President Plevneliev requested that an urgent plan including short-term and long-term measures to repair the damage caused by the floods and prevent disasters be launched. The Head of State, who took part in the meeting of the district crisis headquarters in Varna, called on for promptly estimating the damage and launching projects on draining and constructing and modernizing the drainage, which should be funded by European instruments.
President Rosen Plevneliev and Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, visited Varna, where they took part in the meeting of the district crisis headquarters and inspected the Asparuhovo quarter, which was badly affected by the flood.
The Head of State called on for improving the communication between the different authorities involved in coping with the consequences of the disaster. “The people are willing to see that the institutions currently work promptly to their benefit,” the President said at the meeting.
Rosen Plevneliev recalled that about two years ago in the wake of the tragedy in the village of Biser, the necessity to conduct reforms in the water sector was highlighted. However, the legal amendments by virtue of which the reform will be conducted have reached the stage of first hearing in Parliament. The President commented that the fact that no measures have been taken to solve problems such as illegal construction and felling and the cleaning of the river beds is unacceptable. The Head of State also highlighted the necessity for introducing training for crisis response. “I am proud of the initiative shown by the volunteers and the solidarity the people demonstrated,” the President further said.
“We should not be under the illusion that we will not be stricken by such a disaster any longer. Therefore prevention is of key importance,” European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said at the meeting. She called on the institutions in Varna to launch the necessary projects, which will be funded respectively. “We should show that the problem has been localized and we are able to solve it,” European Commissioner Georgieva added.
In the Asparuhovo quarter of Varna the activities related to draining the people’s houses are still ongoing. Emergency teams and more than 350 volunteers are cleaning the streets and ravines in the region. The meeting of the district crisis headquarters reported that the Bulgarian Red Cross provides food and water supplies for the population.