Eight dead in Europe flooding

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Swollen rivers in Bulgaria and Greece burst their banks Tuesday, leaving dozens of homes underwater, as Bulgarian officials declared a day of mourning for eight people confirmed killed after a dam collapse nearly washed away their village.

Bulgaria’s civil defense agency warned that two other, bigger dams were also on the brink of spilling over, and residents were urged to prepare for an evacuation. Authorities have started a controlled release of water from the dams to prevent overflow.

Europeans across the continent have been battling more than a week of extreme weather, with thousands still trapped by snow in remote mountain villages in the Balkans; hundreds – most of them homeless – dead after temperatures hit as low as minus 33; and authorities now facing the prospect of flooding caused by melting snow.

A day after the dam burst, the Bulgarian government declared a day of mourning, and streets in the village of Bisser were covered with sticky mud as people returned to their water-logged homes.

At least a dozen houses had collapsed, uprooted trees blocked roads, and smashed cars sat abandoned along deserted streets.