Earthquakes Greatest Disaster Concern for Bulgarian Govt

Earthquakes and floods pose the greatest natural disaster threats for Bulgaria, according to an emergency situations plan of the Bulgarian government.

The plan underscores the fact that earthquakes are the most dangerous potential causes of emergency situations in Bulgaria.

The document says that 80% of the population of the country lives in areas with high seismic risk, and that 98% of the Bulgarian territory would be affected in the event of an earthquake with a magnitude of above 7 on the Medvedev-Sponheuer-Karnik scale.

Such a strong earthquake would destroy 26% of all buildings in the country, Bulgarian government experts have estimated.

Floods are mentioned as the second most important natural disaster threat. The regions along the major Bulgarian rivers – Danube, Maritsa, Tundzha, Mesta, Iskar, Arda, and Kamchia – have the highest flood risk.

The government plan estimates that the worst floods are possible in the region along the Danube in the period February-May as a result of the snow melting in the Alps. Such a disaster would affect 500 000 Bulgarians and 73 000 decares of agricultural lands.

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