An emergency situation and cracked walls after the earthquake which hit 5.8 on the Richter scale

Yesterday, the city of Sofia and the town of Pernik woke up to cracked walls, fallen plaster and chimneys after an earthquake of 5.8 magnitude on the Richter scale which was felt in most parts of the country, shortly before 3:00 am on Tuesday morning. “The epicentre of the earthquake was 10 km southwest of Pernik,” announced experts from the Geophysical Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).

"There are no human casualties and the damage is measurable. Let us thank God that we endured this disaster" said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov on the Bulgarian National Television.

Most of the damages were in the areas where the quake was felt most strongly – in Pernik, in the capital Sofia, in Radomir and Rudartsi. Early on Tuesday, Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov announced that an emergency situation has been declared in Pernik, which remains in force today.

Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Lilyana Pavlova and Minister of Education Youth and Science Sergei Ignatov visited the affected areas in order to inspect the damages.

Officials from the Ministry of Interior informed that Crisis Staffs have been set up in the capital and in the town of Pernik in order to coordinate the actions of the local authorities and the Government. The inspections of the dams showed that the facilities remain intact and their walls are not damaged. The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works released an official statement asserting that the buildings in Sofia and throughout the country were designed and constructed in order to be able to withstand earthquakes of higher magnitude than the current one. According to the Ministry, more stringent rules for the design and construction of buildings have been introduced since 1987 in order to ensure steadiness and firmness of the construction works to seismic impacts, as the level has been increased to 9 on the Medvedev- Shponheuer - Karnik scale.

Mayor of Pernik Rositsa Yanakieva said that one-third of the oldest tower of the Thermoelectric Power Plant in Pernik has been destroyed. “Dirty water flows in the town of Radomir,” said after the meeting of the Crisis Staff Minister Lilyana Pavlova. She noted that the water was not drinkable and the water supply has been stopped. Water-carries were provided to the city and a donation of 30,000 tons of water was made. Pavlova added that the Water and Sewerage Company was already working in order to fix the problem, which occurred because of the entry of mire into the water.

Pavlova inspected the schools in Pernik. According to her, the 4th school was in the worst condition. It houses a vocational school, a primary school and a kindergarten.

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