Two people drowned and 900 were evacuated from their homes as flooding caused by torrential rains hit north-western Bulgaria, the latest in a string of such disasters since June, the interior ministry said on Sunday. Over 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 (10 feet) 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, the ministry said. Several dozen houses collapsed under the strong flood wave in the small town, home to 3,200 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.