Galery

1

Anastasia Balezdrova

Torrential rains that have raised the River Maritsa level have caused serious problems in its Greek section, the most serious of them being the evacuation of the border village Ormenio on Saturday.

GRReporter turned for more information to Deputy Governor of Evros Dimitris Petrovits.

Mr. Petrovits, what is the current situation along the River Maritsa valley in its Greek section?

After 12 days, we are observing a drop in the river level and the trend will continue. The river level is still above the critical point and a while ago, it was 6 m at the village of Pitio and 7 m near Petalo. Currently, 2,100 cubic metres of water per second are falling in the River Maritsa.

What were the most serious problems due to the river swelling?

It was the crisis in Ormenio where the risk of serious consequences was huge. We alleviated the situation by making a dike in the village. This had not previously happened but we had no choice and did it.

More than 100,000 acres of farmland were flooded. Despite the decline in the river level, we are in a state of readiness, as winter is coming and so are the problems. The river overflow has caused various problems in the dikes and currently they cannot be amended because of the conditions.

In an interview with us two months ago, you stressed the total lack of cooperation with the Bulgarian authorities on overcoming such crises. Have things changed since then?

Yes, this time we were informed about the rising level of Ivaylovgrad dam lake through diplomatic channels, namely by two verbal notes to the Embassy of Greece in Sofia.

This is a step in the right direction, but I think that the local authorities will be able to achieve much more at the regional level.

In this regard, Governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace George Pavlidis will initiate a meeting with his colleagues from Haskovo and Edirne. Initially, he will meet with each of them separately, and then subsequently, he will hold a joint tripartite meeting to discuss the cooperation framework and methods.

I always joke, saying, "When Bulgaria catches a cold, Greece has a fever." The problems that are due to the extreme weather phenomena are common and we must resolve them with joint efforts.