Blizzard hits Romania
The blizzard has paralyzed the south and east of Romania.
România Internațional, 18.01.2016, 13:07
The latest snowfalls in Romania have again disrupted road, air, railway and naval traffic. The worst-hit regions were the country’s south and east, including the capital city Bucharest. Tens of villages have been cut off from the power grid, while traffic on numerous national and county roads was closed down, including the motorway to the seacoast. Railway traffic was also severely affected. Dozens of trains were cancelled while numerous others reported delays that in some cases exceeded two hours.
Due to the strong wind, all operations on the Romanian Black Sea Coast, as well as traffic on the Danube-Black Sea canal have been temporarily put on hold. In Bucharest, over 130 cars were damaged by trees that snapped under the weight of the snow and ice. Additionally, several flights have been cancelled, while others took off with great delays. Several people in need of medical care were transferred to hospitals using dual track snowmobiles, as emergency vehicles could not reach certain areas due to the snow.
Police authorities have fined several road administrators for failing to properly manage the roads. Equally, all snow-clearing services in Bucharest were fined for their faulty intervention. Over 6,000 firefighters, police officers and gendarmes were called up to help the population and clear the snow off the roads. The Interior Ministry has announced there are no stranded areas at present or people snowed in.
After the heavy snow, meteorologists expect a cold snap to take hold of the entire country. Temperatures will drop to minus 15 and even minus 20 degrees Celsius during the night in some areas. Other countries in Eastern Europe too, including Serbia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria Croatia or Poland were confronted with heavy snowfalls, blizzards and cold weather.
(Translated by Vlad Palcu)
