Heavy rain in the northwestern town of Mizia caused some ten houses to collapse and necessitated the evacuation of around 500 people.

The torrential rain on Saturday night caused the Skat River to overflow, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio.

The situation in the area remains critical and two dams are overflowing through their spillways, according to outgoing Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev.

Teams of rescue workers from the Defense Ministry, the Civil Protection unit, and the police, as well as emergency care doctors, have been dispatched to the site.

Volunteers are also helping.

The teams of rescue workers are striving to secure water and food supplies for the evacuees.

Vratsa District Governor Ventsislav Vasilev rejected in a Sunday interview allegations that dam walls had been torn and insisted that the only cause for the flood was the heavy rain. His opinion was echoed by outgoing Environment Minister Stanislav Atanasov, who claimed that a total of 15 municipalities had been notified about a code yellow weather alert, including the Vratsa Municipality, but it had failed to take precautions.

Mizia Mayor Violin Krushovenski informed that the road connecting Mizia to Vratsa had been closed.

Outgoing Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev and Svetlozar Lazarov, Chief Secretary of the Interior, have headed for the flood-stricken area.

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