Montana

A code yellow warning for snow and ice in northern Bulgaria on Sunday has been issued.

According to the weather forecast of the National Meteorology Institute, the snow cover will reach 10 cm. The warning is valid for the regions of Vidin, Montana, Vratsa, Pleven, Lovech, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, Targovishte, Razgrad, Silistra, Shumen, Varna and Dobrich.

Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova warned that certain regions in the country are totally unprepared for winter.

"The money for winter clearing of the roads has been spent in the summer for trimming shrubs," she told the Nova TV national channel breakfast show. "This is why the roads are unprepared for the winter, particularly the mountain passes."

Bulgaria's warning siren system will be tested on October 13, informs the Interior Ministry press centre.

The sirens will be tested at noon in Burgas, Varna, Kurdzhali, Montana, Pazardzhik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Ruse, Smolyan, Sofia, Vratsa and the residential areas within the 30-km zone around the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant.

Friday, October 3 will be a day of national mourning after the explosion at the Midzhur ammunition factory near the northwestern village of Gorni Lom, the Council of Ministers has announced.

There were fourteen people at the time of the explosion in the ammo factory Midzhur near the village of Gorni Lom in Bulgaria's north-west, witnesses say.

Initial reports suggested fifteen people could have been inside and feared dead, with the Interior Ministry saying there were no signs of life except for a movement of a wild animal detected earlier on Thursday morning.

The first snow covered the Petrohan mountain pass early on Tuesday morning, reports tribali.info.

On Monday, Bulgaria's Independence Day, Code Yellow warning for strong winds was issued in four districts in the country, according to the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology.

The warning is valid for the districts of Vidin, Montana, Vratsa and Pleven. The northwestern wind in these areas will increase overnight. Its speed will reach 15-20 m/s, Standart news informs.

Code orange weather warning over heavy rains has been issued for six Bulgarian districts for September 16, including Montana, Vratsa, Plovdiv, Smolyan, Pazardzhik and Sofia district.

Code orange means that the meteorological phenomena envisaged in the forecast pose a potential risk to life and property.

Bulgaria's customs officers have prevented the trafficking of 30 parrots with false documents on Sunday, the Customs Agency announced.

A mobile group in the northwestern city of Vidin inspected a vehicle in the area of Danube Bridge 2. The driver was a Bulgarian traveling to the Czech Republic.

An inter-departmental commission at Bulgaria's Council of Ministers will propose to the caretaker government to approve the allocation of BGN 26 580 640 to coping with flood damage.

The commission, chaired by caretaker Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov, held its second sitting on Monday.