Varna's Asparuhovo Threatened by 'Active Landslides' - Expert

Active landslides on both sides of drainage gullies are becoming more and more dangerous to flood-stricken Asparuhovo district in Bulgaria's Varna, an expert believes.

Assoc. Prof. Nikolay Dobrev, who works at the Geological Institute with the Bulgarian Academy of Science (BAN), told public broadcaster BNR that cracks had started to emerge in the slopes around Asparuhovo after the disaster in mid-June, with some of them even going under houses.

Dobrev issued his warnings after visiting the Black Sea city to assess the situation on the ground.

He added cracks could be seen even in the upper part of the slopes, which carries the risk that more blocks of earth could tumble down endangering low-lying parts of the district.

Oleg Kolev, an engineer who works at the Varna Municipality, added that experts were already researching into the steadiness of the land mass there to safeguard the protection of the population in case of other natural disasters to come.

Landslides are already active after flash floods took twelve lives in Asparuhovo, with poor drainage having significantly contributed to the death toll.

Raging waters also claimed one life in the nearby town of Dobrich.