Two Drown, 900 Evacuated In Bulgaria Floods

Two people have drowned and 900 have been evacuated from homes after
floods caused by torrential rain hit northwestern Bulgaria.

More than 800 residents of the town of Mizia were evacuated overnight
and during the day on Sunday after the swollen river Skut submerged
large parts of the town under up to three metres of water, the
interior ministry said.

The bodies of a 60-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman were
recovered from their inundated houses as boats and two army
helicopters evacuated residents from the area.

Several dozen houses collapsed under the strong flood wave in the
small town, home to 3200 people. Electricity was cut for safety
reasons.

Aerial pictures released by the army showed vast parts of Mizia and
its adjacent farmland covered in muddy green waters with rooftops
sticking out and no sight of roads or bridges.

Another 100 people were also evacuated in the nearby village of
Krushovitsa and houses, gardens and roads in several other villages in
the region were also submerged.

"Dozens of houses have collapsed, hundreds are under water. The
situation is critical," the country's acting interior minister,
Tsvetlin Yovchev, said.

Rescue operations were ongoing with about 300 emergency workers,
firefighters, police officers and soldiers dispatched to the area.