A plan for the protection of the population has been established in connection with the signals received by the Basin Directorate "Eastern Aegean Region" - Plovdiv about the overflow of rivers in the region of Krumovgrad and the Municipality of Kirkovo, as well as about the overflow of the Tihomir Dam, Municipality of Dzhebel. The signals have been reported to the duty officer in the municipality, the police, and the fire department.

The Basin Directorate "Eastern Aegean Region" monitors data from the established early warning and flood forecast systems, as well as the forecasts of the National Institute of Metereology and Hydrology in connection with the orange code warning for significant rainfall and strong winds in Southern Bulgaria and in particular in the Kardzhali region. The municipalities of Kirkovo and Krumovgrad have been informed of possible high waters. At the moment, the rainfall in the Krumovgrad region has stopped. A warning has been sent to the Kardzhali Regional Administration for expected significant rainfall and strong winds in the Kardzhali region of the second degree (orange code) and for tomorrow, January 8 (Thursday), 2026.

At the moment, there is no information about spills or about critical levels and emergency situations that have occurred on the dam walls and their facilities, for critical sections of dikes and fortifications, as well as for other settlements affected by the rainfall.

The Tihomir Dam (Kirkovo Municipality) is overflowing, with the waters flowing into the Krumovitsa River and this further increases the level of the river. At the moment, the dam is overflowing only through the spillway.

Near the village of Shumnatitsa, Kirkovo Municipality, the water level in the river near the village has overflowed and the area is flooded, as it has been raining at this location since the evening of January 6. The flooded Shumnatitsa River has flooded part of the road infrastructure.

In Krumovgrad, the river, which is a tributary of the Krumovitsa River, had overflowed in the market area, but the water has already drained away and the river level has dropped by over half a meter. Due to the intense rainfall over the past 24 hours, high waters have formed along the entire Krumovitsa riverbed, but by the end of the day the water had drained away from the areas flooded since the morning.

The municipality has issued a warning to the population along the Krumovitsa River not to cross the river, which is in force for people and animals. It is ready to declare a partial state of emergency for the settlements in the area of the village of Grivka, Krumovgrad municipality. At the moment, the situation is under control and there are no people in distress. The duty officers in the Krumovgrad municipality maintain communication with the mayors of the settlements. The Mayor of Krumovgrad Municipality Sebihan Mehmed thanked the Basin Directorate for its assistance in the administrative procedure related to the cleaning of the riverbed along the bridge, which prevented serious damage to the infrastructure and the population.

The Eastern Aegean Region Basin Directorate - Plovdiv is on 24-hour duty, and the operational unit is ready to respond if necessary.