AFTER a spell of weather that was relatively warm and dry for the season, winter returned with a vengeance in the past week, covering the entire country in thick snow and bringing bitingly low temperatures, and prompting states of emergency in several places. In the middle of the previous week, a cyclone brought to Eastern and Northeastern Bulgaria heavy snow and high wind, which led to the states of emergency in almost half the country.
The blizzards and the snow-drifts, at some places as high as three metres, closed down the Hemus highway in its Shumen and Varna parts and many smaller roads across the country.
Seaports and the airports in Varna and Bourgas were closed for several days over the weekend of February 5 and 6.
Varna was particularly seriously hit by the blizzard, with entire neighbourhoods cut off from the rest of the city.
Villages and towns were cut off from the rest of the country for days on end as cars and other vehicles trying to reach them were stranded in the snow.
Almost a week after the last round of heavy snowfalls, 34 Bulgarian municipalities, mostly in Eastern Bulgaria, were still in a state of emergency.
A nation-wide effort was made to restore the normal functioning of infrastructure, including power supply, water supply, communications and roads.
Ten population centres in Varna and Bourgas regions were by February 8 still without electricity, six were without water and two without telephone connections.
Rescue operations were conducted to retrieve snow-bound vehicles and provide first aid to those in need.
The Black Sea Port of Bourgas remained closed to small vessels.
On February 8 the train station and airport in Varna, were already operational, but Varna seaport handled only vessels with load.
On February 9, there was 40 per cent ice on the Danube river near the port of Lom, the staff on duty at the meteorological station on the bank of the river told Bulgarian news agency BTA. The port was covered with ice blocks but they were not very thick and did not constitute a danger to vessels entering the port.
The situation was accompanied by record low temperatures, dropping to minus 29 degrees C in Sevlievo and minus 24 in Knezha on February 7, and on February 9 the temperature in Sevlievo was reported to have hit a new record minus 34.
In some areas, school pupils found themselves with an unexpected holiday as classes were cancelled, while in other places some employers were reported to have adjusted working hours so that employees could come only during the warmest hours of the day.
According to weather data, the area has not seen such a severe winter since 1956. The forecast was for warmer weather at the end of the week.
Apart from the freezing cold weather and the snow, the flu situation in the country also deteriorated.
As of February 7, the Health Ministry announced flu epidemics in Samokov, Pirdop, Slivnitsa, Pazard-jik, Velingrad, Pernik, Radomir, Montana, Pleven, Dobritch, Silistra, Shumen, Rzagrad, Turgovishte, Rousse, Yambol, Blagoevgrad, Petrich and Gotse Delchev.
In a pre-epidemic state were Gabrovo, Smolyan, Plovdiv and Kurdjali.
The epidemic in Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Harmanli, Sliven, Svilengrad and Lyubimets was still in full swing for a second week in a row.