More than 300 reports of damage have been received by the Sofia Municipality operations centre due to the strong winds. Teams from the Emergency Assistance and Prevention Directorate, the fire service and municipal services are working to remove fallen trees, branches, sheet metal and other dangerous objects.
By the morning hours, 120 reports of fallen trees, 15 of fallen fence panels and 3 of damaged traffic light systems had been received in Sofia. More than one-third of all reports received have already been processed. They are most concentrated in the Vitosha, Triaditsa and Lozenets districts, but there are problems in almost all parts of the city.
About 10 cars were hit by fallen trees and branches, which have already been removed. Two reports were filed about sheet metal torn from roofs, and the sites have been secured. In the Manastirski Livadi-East neighbourhood, three cars were hit by overturned containers, one of them suffering serious damage to its boot.
Restrictions on Transport and Access to Vitosha
Traffic in the Malo Buchino area was temporarily suspended because a roof had fallen onto the roadway. Tram services along Tsar Boris III Boulevard were also suspended because of fallen trees. Later, public transport was operating without significant difficulties.
Access to Vitosha has been temporarily prohibited because fallen trees have blocked the road. The Botanical Garden has also been closed. The Sofia Municipality urged residents to secure their construction sites and balconies.
Schools and kindergartens in Sofia are operating normally, with no power outages. On the motorway from Pernik to Sofia, the wind blew direction signs onto the carriageway, and a report was made to emergency number 112.
Partial State of Emergency in Elin Pelin and Vratsa
A partial state of emergency has been declared throughout Elin Pelin Municipality as of 12:00. Strong gusts caused damage to public buildings and other sites, while a tree fell in the City Park. The municipal crisis headquarters is to analyse the situation and coordinate the clean-up operations.
A partial state of emergency has also been declared in Vratsa. Wind gusts reached 110 km/h, while emergency teams are removing fallen trees, branches, roof tiles, sheet metal, plaster and greenhouses.
“There is a great deal of damage, and the situation is dangerous, which is why we declared a partial state of emergency,” Vratsa Mayor Kalin Kamenov said.According to him, some people suffered minor abrasions, but no one was seriously injured. Residential buildings, apartment blocks, cars, public buildings, power lines and fences were affected. Part of the roof of the Bulgarian Red Cross storage facility collapsed.
There are power supply problems in the villages of Chelopek and Beli Izvor because transformer substations were affected. Train traffic on the Vratsa–Mezdra railway line was also disrupted. According to Todor Gotsev, chief crisis management expert at Vratsa Municipality, around 40% of children were not taken to nurseries and kindergartens at their parents’ discretion.
There is a discrepancy between the published information regarding the severity of the weather warning. NOVA reports a red warning in Vratsa and an orange warning for Sofia, while BTA, citing the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, indicates an orange warning for Vratsa and a yellow warning for Sofia City and Sofia Region.