The flood in the area of the Elenite resort complex on the southern Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, which killed four people, including a Russian citizen, was probably caused by design errors, TASS reported.
This was announced by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov at a briefing, expressing serious doubts about the professionalism of the local administration employees who issued permits for the construction of the resort's facilities directly on the riverbed.
„A reasonable question is why, when reviewing the construction plans, they were not coordinated with the hydrological service and why all the buildings, including those built on the riverbed – the hotel and the aqua park – have been issued permits for use. I believe that further investigation will confirm these suspicions and the construction permits in this area will be canceled, as they were issued illegally“, the minister said.
The Bulgarian Chamber of Architects issued a statement blaming the Black Sea floods on “uncontrolled construction, destruction of the natural environment and government inaction“.
The administration of Nessebar, where the resort is located, claims that the tragedy was caused not by violations or mistakes made by builders and investors, but by extreme weather conditions. “What we experienced was an unexpected and devastating natural phenomenon, against which man and his facilities were powerless. The measured precipitation – 340 mm in just a few hours – is many times greater than the average monthly for the region and confirms the extraordinary scale of the phenomenon. Nature demonstrated a force that the infrastructure could not overcome“, the BTV television channel quoted the administration as saying. They also stressed that all buildings in the resort were built in accordance with current legislation, and the drainage system, which ensures the free flow of rainwater into the sea, has been functioning effectively for more than 30 years.
A criminal case has been opened regarding those who died in the flood and an investigation is underway. A state of emergency has been declared in Elenite and several other coastal areas due to the flooding. All residents and tourists from the Elenite resort have been evacuated. On October 7, a red code for dangerous meteorological phenomena was again issued for the southern Black Sea coast; meteorologists noted localized, but not critical, flooding.