Varna Mayor Ivan Portnih has said that the local authorities are issuing orders for forced evacuation as some people refuse to leave their homes.

In a Sunday interview for the Bulgarian National Television, Portnih informed that the local authorities had prepared for emergency evacuations due to the refusal of people living in dangerous buildings to leave them.

The Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna has been grappling with the damage caused by severe flooding, which claimed the lives of 11 people in the residential district of Asparuhovo on Thursday and Friday, according to reports of dnevnik.bg.

Portnih made clear that the local authorities would ask the police to help with the immediate evacuation of people from some 20 buildings which were in poor condition.

He explained that the repair works were underway in all residential districts of the city and the main road arteries had been cleared.

Portnih said that some 800-900 people would be helping to clear the infrastructure and people’s homes on Sunday, including a large number of volunteers.

The Mayor of Varna noted that the authorities had already launched decontamination and anti-mosquito treatment (aerial spraying) activities in some areas.