Bulgaria Holds Day of Mourning for the Flood Victims

June 23 has been declared a national day of mourning in Bulgaria for the victims of the floods in the Black Sea city of Varna and in Dobrich.

National flags at all public institutions will fly at half-mast. All celebrations and public events are canceled.

President Rosen Plevneliev will attend a prayer for the dead held in the Dormition of the Mother of God Cathedral in Varna, Monday. The official ceremony of mourning will be led by Varna and Veliki Preslav Metropolitan Yoan.

A number of official memorial services will be held countrywide.

The torrential rains on Thursday and Friday caused extreme floods in three Bulgarian regions – Varna, Dobrich and Veliko Tarnovo. The disaster claimed 11 lives in Varna's Asparuhovo district, two of the victims were children. One person died in Dobrich.