The Sofia Municipality does not need to declare an emergency situation in the Bulgarian capital because of the torrential rains and flooding in some suburbs, Mayor Fandakova has announced.

Earlier on Saturday, Fandakova warned that Sofia was close to declaring a crisis situation.

Subsequently, however, she stated that authorities and the units of the police and Civil Protection Service have started to take control of the flooded sections one by one. At the same time, the torrential rain in the capital has started to recede.

The major problem in Sofia is the flooding of a large swath of the Sofia Beltway. Large amounts of water are just flowing down the slopes of the Vitosha Mountain and flooding the major road.

The flooding of a large section of the southern part of the Sofia Beltway disrupted the overall car traffic in the capital as the traffic police had to restrict the access to the area and redirect much of the traffic.

"We are working very actively to secure the beltway, and also the bridges on the Iskar River and several other spots. There is no need to declare an emergency situation," Fandakova explained.

A potential problem within the city stems from the condition of the several small rivers flowing through it; usually, they have very little water, and as a result their beds have not been cleaned regularly. As the beds are now filling with much more water, this is a potential flooding hazard.

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