No casualties have been reported in the flooding after the torrential rain in several villages in the region of Karlovo, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports, citing Plovdiv regional governor Angel Stoev. Three houses and one shop have been destroyed in the village of Slatina, one house in the village of Bogdan, and several houses have been partially destroyed in Karavelovo.
Bogdan has been hit hardest, around 20 people have been airlifted from the village by helicopter. 100 soldiers and equipment have been sent to help the people there. The helicopter will deliver food and water to Bogdan which is still cut off, as well as to the most critical points, but only during daylight hours. Several substations in the stricken villages have been flooded which is why the electric power supply there is patchy.
Because Byala River has burst its banks, part of the national architectural reserve in Koprivshtitsa is under water, according to a bTV reporter. Many houses have been flooded and people have been asked to turn off their electrical power supply.
At the same time the National Investigation Service has launched an investigation into a possible criminal offense – criminal negligence causing flooding. The rescue operations continue to evacuate people from the flooded areas where the rain continues. Besides the army, specialized teams from the Road Infrastructure Agency, as well as emergency teams from Sofia municipality are also helping the population in the disaster zones.
Caretaker Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Shishkov, who is in the area, specified that the damage is mostly to the municipal infrastructure, but that the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works will do what it can to help. The main streets in Voynyagovo village in the region of Plovdiv, which is close to Stryama River, have been flooded, BTA reports. People are stacking sandbags around their homes, as the manholes in the streets are overflowing.
Stryama River is on the verge of flooding the Plovdiv-Karlovo road near the town of Banya. The houses near the river are flooded.
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