Up to 2,000 hectares of land along the Evros in Thrace was flooded yesterday when the river, swollen by heavy rains in Bulgaria, broke its banks. A state of emergency was declared for the entire region, on the border with Turkey, while authorities broke dams to flood some 1,500 hectares of uninhabited land in a bid to divert floodwaters away from settlements and cultivated areas. No casualties were reported. Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis phoned his Bulgarian counterpart Solomon Passy yesterday to request help in containing the floods. By evening, the river’s level had exceeded 6 meters.