"We expect a poor harvest to follow the abundant rainfall and flooding this summer and, together with the recent hike in fuel prices, it will necessitate a 30 to 40 percent increase in bread prices in some regions of the country," union chief Dimitar Ludiev told BTA newsagency.

Grain crops are also threatened by an ever increasing rat population in Bulgaria's wheatbelt around Dobrich (southeast), press reports said.

In the past week wind, hail, and torrential rain turned vast tracts of farmland into swamps and flooded thousands of houses around the country.

Whole towns were cut from the world with no electricity, communications and running water, as landslides cut through highways, railroads and bridges in Ruse and Silistra to the north, and Gabrovo and Veliko Tarnovo in central Bulgaria, state emergency services announced.

An uprooted tree hit and killed a woman during a storm Tuesday in Karlovo (central), the Standard daily newspaper reported.

Two cargo trains were derailed Tuesday night in the region of Stara Zagora because of track damaged by the rains.

One of UNESCO's world heritage sites in Bulgaria, the rock-hewn churches near Ivanovo in the northeast, dating back to the 12th century, is in critical condition, local authorities reported.

They sought governmental help Wednesday to preserve the precious murals severely damaged by the rains.

On Wednesday the US Agency for International development provided 50,000 dollars (42,000 euros) in emergency relief funds for assistance to flood victims in Bulgaria, the US Embassy in Sofia said in a statement.

The Bulgarian Red Cross and private bTV television have run a media campaign asking people to donate blankets, food and clothes to disaster-hit families.

Finance Minister Milen Velchev requested Tuesday 75 million eurosmillion dollars) in financial aid from the European Commission to rebuild submerged infrastructure, his ministry announced.

One fourth of Bulgaria's population has suffered from flooding, with more than 6,300 innundated or completely ruined houses, 52 destroyed bridges, 420 streets and 35 kilometers of railroad.

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