E.U. grants new aid to flood-hit areas in Bulgaria

Brussels_(dpa) _ The European Commission said Thursday it was granting 20.35 million euros (24.6 million dollars) in aid to help the Bulgarian authorities deal with damage caused by two flood disasters that hit the country last year.
The aid was in response to a request by the Bulgarian authorities, the Commission said.

Funding will be used to reimburse the cost of rescue services, the cleaning up of disaster stricken areas and the restoration of basic infrastructures.

Bulgaria was struck by heavy floods in May and August 2005, severely damaging large parts of the country. The northeast, the Sofia region and the southern part of the country were especially damaged. A total of 18 people died in the floods. Thousands had to be evacuated from the worst affected regions.

The floods caused millions of dollars in damage to agriculture, buildings, electricity and infrastructure networks, transport and communication as well as cultural heritage sites.

The E.U. executive said that 9.72 million euros of the total aid package would go to the Bulgarian areas flooded in May, and 10.63 million to the regions hit by the disaster in August 2005. dpa sch si pmc