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Maritza is the biggest river on the
Balkan Peninsula with catchment area of 53 000 km2 including territory of three countries: Bulgaria,
Greece, and Turkey. Its biggest tributaries are Arda and Tundja rivers. Their river basins are almost
entirely in Bulgaria, and their mouths into Maritza river are in Turkey near Odrin/Edirne in the close
proximity of the Bulgarian-Greek-Turkish border.
Significant parts of Maritza river basin are exposed
to hazards of frequent and dangerous floods as a result of intensive precipitation and snow melt
during winter and spring. Inundations and natural calamities with significant losses and human
casualties on Bulgarian territory are most frequent along the south-eastern tributaries of
Maritza and Arda rivers, and on Turkish territory—in the vicinity of Odrin/Edirne.
The first documented floods
are on Bulgarian territory in the region of Plovdiv when the river level on 31 Aug.--01 Sep 1856 was higher than 4 m.
The records continue with the following big inundations in 1876, 1894, 1911, 1957.
The most sudden and dangerous
floods are observed in Arda river basin as a result of Mediterranean cyclones causing intensive precipitation
and snow melt during winter. Thus the floods along Arda River and its tributaries Varbitza and Krumovitza
in 1956, 1990, and 1996 with wave height more than 6 m and water quantities more than 1400 m3/s caused great
losses and casualties.
Recently as a climate change effect cells of very heavy precipitation causing sudden
floods on limited area have been observed. That was the case on 15 Nov. 2004 in the Tzankov Kamak dam area,
and on 18 Dec. 2004 in Smolian region
On the Turkish side there
are also dangerous floods with losses and casualties in the region of Odrin/Edirne, which are extremely
severe when simultaneous high flows occur on Maritza, Arda and Tundja rovers, as was the case on 11-12 Jan. 2003.
The biggest flooding ion the last two years were in February and August, 2005, and March 2006,
the most important since 22 years. During the innondation in March 2006, 40 000 ha agricultural land, international roads,
habitat areas, and irrigation systems were flooded and damaged.
13.03.2006 г. —
Dam Ivaylovgrad
The water which has passed through the dam's volume was equal to 2 times its volume,
which means that the dam couldn't play a preventive role.
Национален институт по метеорология и хидрология, Българска академия на науките (НИМХ)
National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, Bulgarian Academy of Science (NIMH-BAS)