The latest floods in Bulgaria damaged 2500 buildings, representatives of the State Agency for Civil Defence said.

The agency warned mayors and municipal authorities in advance about the significant rainfall expected in March, the Bulgarian National Radio reported. Almost all Bulgarian regions experienced some degree of damage.

Sofia, Pazardjik, Plovdiv, Vidin and Stara Zagora were affected the most.

Floods resulted from the significant groundwater amounts. These caused landslides and various road sections are still inaccessible. The electricity supply to 100 villages stopped, two villages lacked telephone connection and 10 remained without water supply.

Twelve regions declared a state of emergency. The floods damaged 15 bridges, broke river dikes, damaged buildings and road sections. Nearly 200 people were temporarily evacuated.

Civil defence will aim to create a unified alert system to warn people about upcoming danger in the future. The agency will also have more emergency teams and emergency call hotlines. By the end of March the law for civil protection in case of natural disasters will be modified.