Parts of Bulgaria are slowly recovering from the torrential downpour over the past 48 hours which caused serious damage and disruption in some areas, the Civil Protection service said, cited by Bulgarian media on July 27.

Heavy rainfall triggered flooding in several areas in Bulgaria on July 25 and 26. The southern town of Saedinenie, in the municipality of Plovdiv, was flooded, with authorities declaring a state of emergency on June 26, as a staggering 116 litres a sq m of rain fell in the area, the Civil Protection Service said.

More than 500 homes were flooded. Many areas in Bulgaria were hit by continuous rain throughout July 26.

About 40 litres a sq m of rain fell on the town of Pazardzhik, south-central Bulgaria, while rainfall in Plovdiv and the surrounding region was 14 litres a sq m, 81 litres in Stara Zagora and 51 litres in Kazanluk, the report said.

On July 27, the situation was reported to be "under control" in most areas, except for the hardest hit town, Saedinenie. Rescue teams there were pumping out water from flooded houses, Bulgarian media reports said.

Conditions in areas around Varna and Dobrich were also to be reported to be "near critical". Strong winds had brought down scores of trees and branches in and around Varna, obscuring traffic, while rescue teams had assisted more than 20 stranded vehicles, reports said.

Civil Protection service teams near Dobrich evacuated nine people – eight of them from the village of Branish where water flooded homes, reaching up to 1.5 metres.

The weather forecast for July 27 was for predominantly cloudy weather, with light rain expected to continue throughout Bulgaria.

Later in the afternoon, thunderstorms are expected and moderate wind will blow from the north-west. Average temperatures in Bulgaria for July 27 will be between 22 and 27°C, with 23°C for Sofia.

Conditions for mountaineering will be poor. Above 2000 metres, temperatures will be below 9C with strong winds, at times reaching hurricane intensity along the ridges. While winds in the mountains will be predominantly north-western, along the highest parts they will be mostly southern. Thick clouds, fog and thunderstorms are expected.

Moderate winds are expewacted along the coast, while the water temperature will be between 26 and 27C.