THE first spell of bad weather this winter caused many problems with power supplies and on the roads in some regions of the country over the weekend. Traffic police warned all motorists to be careful and to adjust their driving to winter conditions.
Bulgaria's two major seaports - Bourgas and Varna - were closed because of high northeastern winds. Some gusts reached speeds of 20 m/s. On Sunday the Bourgas Regional Directorate of Maritime Administration closed the Gulf of Bourgas to all vessel movements and suspended all shipping activities in the harbour because of the high wind and the five-point land-swell. Flights from Varna and Bourgas airports were delayed.
The snow, which is three to five centimetres thick in the lowlands and seven to 15 centimetres in the mountains, has caused numerous traffic accidents, some with fatal results.
In the Rhodope Mountains thick snow fell, preceded by rain, which blocked many roads and caused landslides. Mougla, a village in the Smolyan region near the border, was cut off from the rest of the country for five days after a landslide on the road to Smolyan.
Many students from Plovdiv University, who went to huts in the Rhodope Mountains to celebrate the students' holiday on December 8, remained cut off by the thick snow until the beginning of the week.
On Pirin Mountain an avalanche buried eight people who had got lost. Rescue teams recovered seven of the victims. 52-year old Zvezdelin Stoichev was found dead under the snow on Tuesday.
In northern Bulgaria many roads were closed because of the thick ice and snowdrifts.
More than 50 villages in the Razgrad and Silistra regions remained without electricity for several days. High winds and ice snapped power cables, and sub-zero temperatures and wind gusts hindered the attempts of emergency teams to reconnect them. Rousse suffered numerous blackouts and problems with television reception, caused by the bad weather over the weekend. Internet connections in northern Bulgaria were also affected by the extreme conditions.
Against the background of bad weather and the first significant snow this winter, Sofia municipality authorities and Chistota company management reached an agreement with Chistota's striking employees, one of the three waste disposal and sanitation companies in the city. About 600 Chistota employees went on strike last week, demanding higher wages and extra money for working clothes. Last month, their salaries were lowered from 300 leva to 100 leva monthly.
According to Pavel Barakov, head of the Chistota Board of Directors, the workers' wages are higher than minimal. "After Sofia Municipal Council votes on the budget allocation for sanitation for the next year, we will set the remunerations," Barakov said. "If the allocation is lower than this year's, the company is very likely to reduce its expenditures." He did not comment on Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofianski's statement that if the Chistota management does not sort out the problems with its employees, it might lose its concession.
Bulgaria's two major seaports - Bourgas and Varna - were closed because of high northeastern winds. Some gusts reached speeds of 20 m/s. On Sunday the Bourgas Regional Directorate of Maritime Administration closed the Gulf of Bourgas to all vessel movements and suspended all shipping activities in the harbour because of the high wind and the five-point land-swell. Flights from Varna and Bourgas airports were delayed.
The snow, which is three to five centimetres thick in the lowlands and seven to 15 centimetres in the mountains, has caused numerous traffic accidents, some with fatal results.
In the Rhodope Mountains thick snow fell, preceded by rain, which blocked many roads and caused landslides. Mougla, a village in the Smolyan region near the border, was cut off from the rest of the country for five days after a landslide on the road to Smolyan.
Many students from Plovdiv University, who went to huts in the Rhodope Mountains to celebrate the students' holiday on December 8, remained cut off by the thick snow until the beginning of the week.
On Pirin Mountain an avalanche buried eight people who had got lost. Rescue teams recovered seven of the victims. 52-year old Zvezdelin Stoichev was found dead under the snow on Tuesday.
In northern Bulgaria many roads were closed because of the thick ice and snowdrifts.
More than 50 villages in the Razgrad and Silistra regions remained without electricity for several days. High winds and ice snapped power cables, and sub-zero temperatures and wind gusts hindered the attempts of emergency teams to reconnect them. Rousse suffered numerous blackouts and problems with television reception, caused by the bad weather over the weekend. Internet connections in northern Bulgaria were also affected by the extreme conditions.
Against the background of bad weather and the first significant snow this winter, Sofia municipality authorities and Chistota company management reached an agreement with Chistota's striking employees, one of the three waste disposal and sanitation companies in the city. About 600 Chistota employees went on strike last week, demanding higher wages and extra money for working clothes. Last month, their salaries were lowered from 300 leva to 100 leva monthly.
According to Pavel Barakov, head of the Chistota Board of Directors, the workers' wages are higher than minimal. "After Sofia Municipal Council votes on the budget allocation for sanitation for the next year, we will set the remunerations," Barakov said. "If the allocation is lower than this year's, the company is very likely to reduce its expenditures." He did not comment on Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofianski's statement that if the Chistota management does not sort out the problems with its employees, it might lose its concession.
