Troops called out as floods swirl across central Europe

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2005

VIENNA (AFP) — The armies of several central and eastern European countries were mobilizing to cope with heavy rains and floods which have killed nearly 70 people in the region this summer, with Romania and Bulgaria the worst hit.

In Bulgaria, the army was called out both near the capital Sofia and in the country's east, two regions where at least 24 people have been killed and 14,000 left homeless in flooding since June.

The troops are clearing river beds, building dikes and rebuilding bridges, houses and roads, Defence Minister Vesselin Bliznakov told bTV television on Monday.

"The army has cancelled a (military) exercise in order to help out in the devastated regions," Bliznakov said.

The flooding has also destroyed farmland in Bulgaria, sending...