State of Emergency Declared in Bulgaria’s Burgas, Gabrovo, Smolyan

A state of emergency has been declared in Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Burgas due to the potentially dangerous weather, Saturday.

The high waves have swamped the North Beach in the city and the coastline of Nessebar and Pomorie. Some 50 people were evacuated from their houses in the suburbs Chernitsa near Burgas because of the heavy rains and the strong winds, informed Bulgarian National Radio.

Water levels in two of the reservoirs in the municipality of Burgas near the village of Izvor have increased. A monastery in the area Ayazmoto near Meden Rudnik has been flooded. The municipality of Burgas has received over 30 signals since Saturday morning.

There are flooded houses in the village Yasna Polyana and Novo Panicharevo in Primorsko municipality, Mayor of Primorsko Dimitar Germanov told Focus news agency.

The situation is critical in the region of park Rosenets and Strandzha hut where on September 6 the disaster claimed two lives. The road Sozopol - Primorsko has been closed for traffic. The rescue teams are searching for a missing shepherd in the village of Marinka.

The reservoir in Sredets is overflowing, thus Mayor Ivan Zhabov has convened the crisis staff. "Four streets in the town are totally destroyed by the wave, which passed over them," Zhabov told Focus news.

State of emergency has been declared in the city of Gabrovo, and in the village Banite in the Smolyan municipality where a number of landslides have been activated due to snow and rain. The situation is critical in the municipality of Troyan.