Plovdiv residents ready to pull out boats, streets under water (Photos)

Ambulances act as amphibians to get to the Surgeries

A not so big rain flooded dozens of streets in Plovdiv, and many are wondering whether they should take the boats out.
“Plovdiv is my autumn Venice,” writes Milena Vasileva from “Belitsa” street, which has turned into a lake.

A young man could not stand the sight and went down to clear the shaft with his bare hands so that the great water would drain away. Cars barely pass, and drivers fear that their engines may suck in water, and then severe and expensive repairs follow. “It’s always like that,” says the young man who introduced himself as Christo. Stepping into the water, he fumbled with his hands to pull leaves from the shaft.

It is no different along “Peshtersko Shosse”, which is a main boulevard. Right in front of one of the hypermarkets and next to a large AG hospital, a river has formed in the middle of the boulevard and the column of cars is barely budding. But that’s nothing. The section that connects “Peshtersko shose” with “Svoboda” boulevard looks like a full-flowing river. It is this section that leads to the surgeries of the “St. George” UMBAL and the Infectious Disease Clinic, it literally floats. Ambulances cross the lake like amphibians, and drivers of lower cars wonder what to do.

The braver ones, who dared to step out of there, a new surprise awaits them on “Svoboda” Blvd. right next to Bratska Mogila. There, the columns are sharpened, because they step on the gas, and their engines have gone. Turning left on “Vladivostok” street, they get into a real test. The narrow section looks like a full-flowing river. Only city buses, which are very rare on Saturdays and Sundays, can overcome the obstacle.
And on “Maritsa – Yug” Blvd. under the railway bridge with “Koprivshtitsa” it is the usual smooth, as in every rain. And today is no exception. A driver of a car, coming from the center, was shaken. He gave back and did not dare to continue in front of the water mirror.

“I’m not crazy! I’m going to damage my car, then go to the repairmen and spend a lot of money,” commented Vasil Nikolov. He turned towards “Mladezhka” street, but as soon as he entered it from the turn of bus 22, another trap awaited him.

The picture is no different in other parts of Plovdiv. Dripping autumn leaves clog the rain gutters and they have no way to absorb the water. Their maintenance has been entrusted to the municipal enterprise “Chistota” for years. Director Dimitar Georgiev assured “24 Chasa” that so far there have been no major problems, except on “Vasil Aprilov” boulevard, where water flows from Bunardjika and it turns into Canale Grande every time it rains.
“Duty teams are traveling in all areas to remove leaves from the shafts,” assured Georgiev. He claims that there is no problem under the railway bridge on “Maritsa” and “Koprivshtitsa” blvd., but the reality shows otherwise.
According to the head of Chistota, the situation on Golyamokonarsko Shosse, which is being expanded, was more serious. “We called the waterworks for help, because the shafts are horizontal there,” explained Georgiev. According to him, everything was fine in the other problem places – “Skobeleva Maika” and Komatevskiy junction.
“The rain is not large in quantity, but it falls for a short time and this causes the floods,” commented the head of “Chistota”.