Heavy rains in recent days have increased river levels in Pernik region. In some places rivers have overflown their banks and caused flooding, and a state of emergency was declared in the town of Tran, BNR reported. It is in force as of today and will last for 7 days.

The Erma River has raised by 3 meters flooding the town. Work is underway to repair the damage, said the Director of "Fire Safety and Protection of the Population" in Pernik Commissary Boris Borisov.

The school in Tran is flooded too, in its part where the fuel tanks are, a rescue team works there and drains the flooded areas. There are also three flooded houses, but with them you have to wait for the river level to drop before draining. "This is our most critical place right now. In most cases, farmlands are affected," Commissary Borisov said.

Sewage sludge is pouring into the streets from the sewers of the Pernik city of Batanovtsi, its mayor Radoslav Petrov said, as quoted by BTA. Because of the high level of the Struma River, the sewage pipes running into the river cannot cope with the volume and sludge is leaking from everywhere, the mayor explained. The entire Sredorek district is flooded.

According to the mayor, the problem with sewage system has been pressing for the last 15 years.

The water quantity released from Studena dam has been increased to 6,000 l/sec since 12:00 p.m., the Executive Director of "Water Supply and Sewerage - Pernik Borislav Ivanov told BTA. This is due to the increased flow to the water reservoir, which for the last day is 8281 l/sec, at a rate of 590 l/s. So far, between 2,000-3,000 l/sec have been released from the dam.

In the last hour alone, the influx has reached 12,000. l/sec., Ivanov pointed out. The water volume of the dam is 23,692,800 cubic meters at a capacity of 25, 519,100 cubic meters. "If we reach a volume of 24,000,000 cubic meters to which we are close, we have to release the same amount that goes into the dam," he said. In his words, the situation is under control, the increased amount of water released is one of the measures for dam management.

A rise in the water level is reported in the Maritsa River at Dimitrovgrad, Harmanli, Svilengrad and Simeonovgrad, reported to BTA the regional administration in Haskovo. According to the municipality's operative officers on duty, as of midday today, despite the increase, nowhere the yellow warning threshold has been reached. The level of the Sazliika River at Simeonovgrad and Ivaylovgrad dam are also below the yellow warning threshold, the administration sources added.