The seaports in Bourgas, Varna and Balchik were closed on January 2 2008, because of bad weather.

Four ships were waiting for calmer weather to enter the Bourgas port, the port press centre announced. Manoeuvres of all vessels in the port had been banned on the evening of January 1, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported.

Wind speed in Bourgas reached 20m per second and became stronger, it was raining.

The wind forced naval administration in Balchik to ban all manoeuvres in its port. Wind speed in the whole region of Dobrich, where Balchik is situated, reached 17m per second, snow cover was one cm and the roads were passable. None of the settlements in the regions suffered electricity or water shortages.

Varna port was also closed because of the wind, BNR said. All roads in the region were passable.

Despite the bad weather, Varna Airport was servicing all flights according to the normal timetable. Plovdiv Airport, however, had been closed since the morning of January 2 2008. All personnel and equipment was cleaning the runways. Most of the flights to and from Sofia Airport had been cancelled.