We have adopted the report on the flooding in Tsarevo, the Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov announced at a briefing at the Council of Ministers.

The document contains an analysis of the infrastructure and proposals for corrective actions to overcome the consequences of the disaster situation on the southern Black Sea coast after the flooding on 5 September.

"Such reports are normally drafted for six months. This report was prepared in two weeks. There is a lot of work to be carried out to prepare the analyses related to the financial dimensions of the damage. Next week we will hold a meeting with all relevant and responsible institutions so that things can move forward faster," explained Minister Julian Popov.

He announced that today's decision included the plan to prepare a financial assessment of the damages within two weeks. This is extremely hard work because this financial assessment must be clear, detailed and justified, the minister noted. According to the committee’s preliminary calculations, the damage from the disaster amounts to about 38 million BGN.

According to Minister Julian Popov, the content of the report will provide more concrete directions for the development of plans for flood and other disaster risk management. His categorical assessment is that some of Bulgaria's infrastructure is not adequate to the country's climate, much less to the climate changes we expect to intensify.

"As a conclusion by the committee, we see that the causes that triggered the disaster were the intense rainfall combined with the region's characteristic geographical features. The other significant cause is infrastructure. The bridges are not sized for the current hydro-meteorological conditions," Petar Dimitrov, Deputy Minister of Environment and Water, who heads the temporary inter-ministerial committee appointed by order of the Prime Minister, explained during the briefing. He pointed out that as a result of this report, the committee has envisaged measures to correct and minimize the damage identified, including proposals for amendments to the regulatory framework.

The decision of the Council of Ministers instructed the committee to set specific deadlines for the implementation of the corrective remedial actions in the report.

The full text of the report can be found HERE.