Emergency in Bulgaria’s Smolyan district enters second day after heavy snowfall
Twenty military personnel from Bulgaria’s 101st Alpine Regiment were continuing to provide assistance to the population of the Smolyan district on January 27, the second day of a state of emergency in the region because of heavy snowfall.
Bulgaria’s Defence Ministry said that the regiment resumed operations on Sunday morning to clea the road from Smolyan to the Prevala mountain pass, where the snow cover was about 60cm.
On January 26, the regiment assisted in clearing the road from the St Panteleimon monastery near Smolyan to the bus station in Bulgaria’s Pamporovo ski resort. They retrieved stranded cars and cleared the roadway of snow and fallen trees.
On Saturday, Pamporovo was effectively cut off by the snow, while another of Bulgaria’s major resorts, Bansko, the gondola lift was closed throughout the day. Conditions in Bansko were considerably better on Sunday.
Power distribution company EVN’s Elektrorazpredelenie Yug said before noon on January 27 that teams were continuing operations to restore power to settlements in the Rhodope mountains.
The teams mostly were having to deal with broken power lines and damage caused by fallen trees, the company said.
Power supply to Dospat had been restored. On January 27, operations to restore power to villages in the Smolyan district were continuing.
Bulgarian media reported on January 27 that there had been dozens of landslides in the municipality of Banite.
Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said that it was ready with an action plan should the situation become more complicated.
After the heavy rainfall and snow at the beginning of the weekend, levels of rivers and had risen, the reports said.
(Photo: Bulgarian Ministry of Defence)