A dike on the Struma River near the town of Batanovtsi cracked. The situation became critical last night after the water reached meters from people's houses. It turns out that the problem has arisen many times over the years, but there are no funds for its permanent solution, explained the mayor of Batanovtsi.
Against the backdrop of heavy rainfall, and now also snow, yesterday afternoon a dike cracked in the area of Batanovtsi. This is shortly after the confluence of the Struma and Konska rivers. This is not the first time this has happened over the years, but last night a critical situation was reached.
In order to avoid more serious damage, the controlled release of the “Studena“ reservoir was temporarily stopped.
At the moment the situation is calm, assured the mayor of Batanovtsi. The situation is under control, and the river has already begun to drain.
Teams from the local authorities and emergency services worked until 2 a.m.
There are no flooded houses and no people injured.
Radoslav Petrov, mayor of Batanovtsi: “For the seventh time the town of Batanovtsi is under water – part of the population. We are currently in one of the most critical points – in “Andreyna Mahala”, where for the umpteenth time the river is out of its bed. What was our duty for me as the mayor of the town of Batanovtsi and as the mayor of the municipality of Pernik, Mr. Stanislav Vladimirov, in the so-called urbanized zone on the territory of the municipality of Pernik and the town of Batanovtsi, has been done. In the part that is outside the urbanized zone, which is the responsibility of the state, unfortunately, absolutely nothing is being done.” “The water comes out every three years and constantly floods houses, yards and farms. BNT: To the question of what they expect from the state, the mayor answered? “To do something about the issue. This cannot go on like this for three years”, explained a resident of the area. See more in the live broadcast of Elena Nikolova.
Radoslav Petrov, mayor of Batanovtsi: “For the seventh time the town of Batanovtsi is under water – part of the population. We are currently in one of the most critical points – in “Andreyna Mahala”, where for the umpteenth time the river is out of its bed. What was our duty for me as the mayor of the town of Batanovtsi and as the mayor of the municipality of Pernik, Mr. Stanislav Vladimirov, in the so-called urbanized zone on the territory of the municipality of Pernik and the town of Batanovtsi, has been done. In the part that is outside the urbanized zone, which is the responsibility of the state, unfortunately, absolutely nothing is being done.”
“The water comes out every three years and constantly floods houses, yards and farms.
BNT: To the question of what they expect from the state, the mayor answered?
“To do something about the issue. This cannot go on like this for three years”, explained a resident of the area.
See more in the live broadcast of Elena Nikolova.