Summary: A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 hit the western part of Bulgaria on 22nd May early in the morning. The epicentre of the earthquake was registered near the town of Pernik also affecting the country’s capital Sofia.
All responsible services from the Joint Rescue System in the Republic of Bulgaria were activated and deployed immediately to the affected area to provide support to the population. National media started broadcasting news about the event and its consequences.
SOFIA, May 23, 2012 (AFP) - Europe's disaster commissioner told Bulgaria on Wednesday that it needs to boost its preparations to deal with emergencies after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake triggered panic among sleeping residents.
"Luckily, there were no casualties but people were very scared, which tells us that we have got work to do," Crisis Response Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, who is Bulgarian, told state BNR radio in an interview.
Aportará 35.000 euros al fondo global de 187.000 euros
Cáritas. 5 de marzo de 2012.- Cáritas Española ha decidido aportar 35.000 euros al fondo global de 187.155 euros solicitados por las Cáritas de los Balcanes para hacer frente a las graves consecuencias de la severa ola de frío polar que afectó semanas atrás a toda la región de los Balcanes y que ha dejado aisladas a cientos de miles de personas, sin acceso a alimentos ni servicios básicos. Miles de familias se enfrentan grandes dificultades para asegurar unas condiciones de vida adecuadas en sus hogares.
Following the proposal of the National Emergency Management HQ after last session held on 26 February 2012, the Government of the Republic of Serbia revoked the Emergency Situation on 27 February 2012.
GENEVA, 21 February 2012 - The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR, today said the European Flood Alert System could soon be put to its greatest test since widespread flooding ten years ago led to its creation by the European Commission.
The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, said she was particularly concerned about the consequences for those countries bordering the Danube where the ice is now starting to break up in the first signs of a spring thaw.
GENEVA, 20 February 2012 - Europe's vulnerability to disasters and the current tough winter "are a clear sign that we need to plan better and manage more robustly the risks we face," warns European Commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva, who is responsible for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.
Due to the heavy snow that has covered Bulgaria in the beginning of February 2012, several dams were overflowing. On Monday, 6 February, the Ivanovo dam wall broke due to severe weather conditions and the water released inundated the villages of Biser and Leshnikovo in south eastern Bulgaria. Several other dams in this areas are also in risk of being damaged due to masses of water and snow.
MOSCOW, February 13, 2012 (AFP) - Some 215 Russians have died this year in a prolonged period of abnormally cold winter weather, the health ministry said Monday as the overall death toll for Europe rose to well over 600.
Heavy snow continued to fall on Monday in Romania and Bulgaria, but the cold snap that froze much of Europe for the past two weeks began to ease in the west of the continent.
BUDAPEST, February 10, 2012 (AFP) - Hungary closed the Danube to river traffic Friday due to thick ice, bringing shipping to a near standstill on Europe's busiest waterway, as the continent's cold snap death toll passed 540.
"Shipping was ordered stopped overnight Thursday to Friday because of conditions created by icing along the Hungarian part of the river," Istvan Lang, who heads the national technical supervisory body OMIT said.
"All ships still underway must immediately head for the closest harbour," Lang, quoted by MTI news agency, said.
February 7th 2012, Budapest - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has increased its emergency support and operations across Europe as temperatures remain in double digits below freezing across much of the continent.
A total of 576,000 Swiss francs (477,300 Euro, 625,000 USD) is being disbursed from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund to help national Red Cross Red Crescent societies bring direct relief to some 50,000 of Europe’s most at-risk. More allocations are expected in the coming hours and days.
BELGRADE, February 9, 2012 (AFP) - Thick ice closed vast swathes of the Danube on Thursday, crippling shipping on Europe's busiest waterway, as the death toll from bitter cold across the continent rose to at least 460.
As it has every day for nearly two weeks, the brutal cold claimed lives in several countries and killed dozens more in weather-related accidents.
This bulletin is being issued for information only, and reflects the current situation and details available at this time. The Bulgarian Red Cross, with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), has determined that external assistance is not required, and is therefore not seeking funding or other assistance from donors at this time.
The plight of thousands of people continues in Europe where forecasters say that icy conditions are unlikely to improve before the end of this week. In the last 11 days, several Red Cross societies have been in a race against time to reduce the impact of the extreme cold. Estimates so far suggest 389 have died, and official sources say the winter has been the most brutal in decades.
SARAJEVO, February 8, 2012 (AFP) - Helicopters ferried food and medicine to iced-in villagers Wednesday as Europe's 12-day-old cold snap tightened its frigid grip on the continent, where more than 400 have died as a result.
Eastern countries such as Poland and Ukraine account for more than half of the death toll, and dozens more have succumbed to the weather's secondary effects, such as asphyxiation due to shoddy heating.
Brussels, 08 February 2012 - Despite dealing with severe winter conditions at home, European countries have responded swiftly to Bulgaria’s request for assistance to fight floods and prevent further damage from the severe winter that has engulfed much of the country. Several dams are overflowing in Bulgaria due to the heavy snow of the past few days. On Monday, 6 February, a wall of the Ivanovo dam broke and the released water inundated the village of Biser in South Eastern Bulgaria. Other towns in the region are also in danger of flooding.
After unusually mild weather in December 2011 and early January 2012 almost all over Europe, the weather situation changed abruptly in the middle of January. An incursion of cold polar air, coming from northern Russia at the south flank of an extensive high pressure area brought extremely low temperatures over large parts of Europe and also some considerable snowfall especially over various parts of the continent.
BELGRADE, February 7, 2012 (AFP) - Ice-breakers Tuesday battled Europe's big chill as the Danube river froze over more than 100 miles (170 kilometres), and dozens died of cold on a continent gripped by some of the lowest temperatures in decades.
The overall death toll from the cold snap that began 11 days ago edged past 400 while forecasters warned there would be no early let-up to the freezing weather.
SOFIA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Heavy snowfall and strong winds across eastern Europe cut off hundreds of villages on Tuesday and rescue teams struggled to evacuate people in southern Bulgaria where rain and melting snow caused a dam wall to break, flooding an entire village.
A river dike also broke under intense water pressure near Kapitan Andreevo at the border with Turkey, officials said.
