The heaviest rain in decades flooded large parts of Bulgaria’s southern coast on August 5, causing significant damage and taking at least two lives.

People bne IntelliNews spoke to said this is the worst storm they have seen in the last 50 years. However, observers are divided over whether this is a consequence of climate change or if poor environmental practices might have been responsible for part of the devastation.

“I have been here since a baby and now I am nearly 50. There was no such storm as long as I can remember,” one eyewitness, M.A., told bne IntelliNews.

The rainstorm, which started in the late hours of September 4, continued through September 5, destroying bridges and flooding the main roads from the town of Sozopol through the town of Sinemorets.

According to local authorities, two people were found dead, while at least one is missing. Some say that the death toll has already reached six.

Videos and photos showed that the floods dragged cars and caravans into the sea at the Arapya campsite. Over 100 people were evacuated on September 5 from the Arapya and Oazis campsites, while in Tsarevo local authorities had to urgently evacuate tourists from coastal hotels.

People in the area have been sharing information on the situation via social media. “For everyone who has relatives at the caravan at Plamen’s. Despite the devastations there so far everyone is okay. May it [the rain] stops sooner and the water drains and everyone endures,” S.D., who is in the most affected area of Arapya, posted on Facebook.

Meanwhile, Dnevnik news outlet reported that children aged 10-11 were stranded at Nestinarka campsite and their parents had no contact with them. A mother told the news outlet that children woke up because the sea flooded their rooms and swept away their luggage. Later on the same day, the authorities said the children were evacuated to the upper floors of the hotel as the ground floor was flooded.

Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov said that water in the reticulation network was contaminated. Over the next one to two days, samples will be taken and the water supply utility will announce when it is safe to drink again.

The rain also caused several power shortages on September 5 but the electricity was fully restored in most areas in the afternoon.

While many Bulgarians attributed the flooding to a freak weather event or climate change, there are also suspicions that the situation was worsened by the actions of the local authorities. 

“The water that flooded us showed clearly what the twelve-year carelessness of [Tsarevo’s] mayor [Georgi] Lapchev has caused,” Emil Peychev, a member of Tsarevo’s municipal council from the Change Continues party, wrote on Facebook.

He added that Lapchev allowed the covering of gullies that would have allowed the water to flow away instead of flooding the area. This was allowed because of the claim they had been dry for years. Peychev said that the gullies were then declared as land plots and construction permits were issued for them.

“There were similar "dry" ravines in the area of Arapya and Nestinarka [campsites]. The dodgers around the mayor covered them and now the water took everything away,” Peychev wrote.

“Regarding the fallen bridge between the old and the new town in Tsarevo, for those who do not know or have already forgotten, I will remind you that only about two months ago repairs were carried out there, reducing the "pass" under the bridge. Then I again reported to the competent authorities, but to no avail,” he added.

Many agreed with him. Lapchev’s twelve years in power were marred by corruption scandals related to the destruction of once popular campsites, where hotels and villas were built by investors allegedly related to the mayor.