Bulgarian Town Declares Emergency after Snow Cuts Off Power, Water

The Bulgarian town of Chepelare in the Rhodope Mountains. File photo.

The southern Bulgarian resort town Chepelare has declared an emergency situation Sunday, after two days of snowfall left it without electricity and water.

Chepelare mayor Todor Bozukov, who announced the news, has said that rescue teams are working for the restoration of utilities, but the situation is still dreary.

He added that a lot of households and public buidlings also have problems with heating due to the power outage, and that schools will stay closed Monday.

According to Bozukov, Chepelare has not seen such heavy snowfall for the past 20 years.

People in Chepelare (pop. 5,500) and in the surrounding villages have been left with no electricity ever since power lines were cut off by snow Saturday.

The water supply has been halted by failure of water pumps in a nearby area, again caused by the snow.

The Chepelare municipality (pop. 8,000) is located in the central part of the extensive and sparsely populated Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria.

Due to the heavy snowfall over the past two days, many towns and villages in the Rhodopes, as well as settlements in central northern Bulgaria, have been left in the dark.

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