Natural disasters that struck Bulgaria last year cost some BGN 990 M, an Interior Ministry official has said.

State aid allocated so far to tackle the aftermath of floods amounts to BGN 120 M, and claims worth BGN 450 M from affected municipalities and other entities are now under consideration, Chief Commissar Nikolay Nikolov, head of the Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection at the Interior Ministry, has told Focus News Agency.

This dwarfs the amount transferred under the EU's Solidarity Fund - just BGN 12.5 M.

Last year Bulgaria was hit by severe floods which affected mostly the northern parts of the country. Its northeastern regions were particularly affected. In Varna's Asparuhovo neighborhood, 13 people died in the floods that hit on June 20, and the entire region suffered damages worth millions.