At least 14 people died in a flood in Bulgaria on Thursday, June 19th. The death toll has slowly risen as searchers find people lost in the storm. The natural disaster cut off electricity, blocked roads and caused several evacuations, according to Bulgarian officials.
Firefighters evacuated several people from their roofs in Kalifarevo. Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall leveled several houses in nearby villages, leaving cars stacked on top of each other and causing extensive property damage. Weather experts reported that the rainfall in Varna and Burgas equaled the average rainfall for the month and that thunderstorms were expected in the next few days.
In the last 30 years, Bulgaria has suffered 13 floods, three earthquakes, two droughts and four wildfires. Deaths totaled 111 from 1980-2010. Floods affected the most people by a large margin; 12,000 people compared to 5,000 by storms and 3,060 by earthquakes. Wildfires affected 167 people.
Water is subsiding and construction machines are clearing the streets of mangled cars and debris. Rescue workers from the city of Veliko Tornovo are pumping out water from flooded houses in the area, along the Yantra River.
Many states are at constant high risks for floods. The top five are Florida, Louisiana, California, New York and New Jersey. The American Red Cross encourages flood preparedness for Americans that live in high-risk states. There are many ways to prepare for an unexpected flood:
• Have an emergency kit on hand. Ready.gov can help you build one, or you can purchase a kit from the American Red Cross.
• Plan an escape route with your family and practice drills regularly.
• Buy and install sump pumps with backup up power.
• Raise electrical switches, sockets, circuit breakers and wiring at least 12 inches above the highest projected flood elevation for your house.
When a flood watch or flash flood watch begins:
• Gather emergency supplies and listen to local radio or the NOAA Weather Radio for updates.
• Review the emergency plan with your family.
• Fill car with gas and keep emergency kit inside car.
• Gather medical records, ID cards insurance cards and any other important documents and place them inside a waterproof container for transport during evacuation.
If evacuation is ordered:
• Never ignore an evacuation order.
• Take only essentials
• Turn off utilities at the main power switch and shut off the gas. Turn off electrical appliances.
Photo: Reuters
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