Losses from extreme weather
In the past days, firefighters and road police officers in Romania have helped clear more than 2,200 trees and dozens of electricity poles felled by extreme weather phenomena
Leyla Cheamil, 29.01.2019, 13:01
Blizzards,
snowfalls, fog and freezing rain caused lots of damage in Romania last week,
when meteorologists issued several code yellow alerts for bad weather and dozen
of reports warning of hydrometeorological hazards. According to the interior
ministry spokesperson Monica Dajbog, severe weather phenomena affected roads
and households in Bucharest and some 50 towns and villages in 20 counties
across the country. Several roads were blocked and lots of cars were damaged by
falling trees. Two motorways were closed, just like 19 county roads and one
national road. Last week, from Friday until Saturday, some 8,000 firefighters,
police and gendarmes acted in order to save people trapped in their cars
because of snow storms or thick fog in mountain areas. Also, they helped clear
the trees and electricity poles which were felled down by the extreme weather
phenomena and helped guide or redirect traffic during such missions. Thus,
firefighters and road police cleared some 2,200 trees and 44 poles that damaged
some 360 vehicles. Now temperatures are rising, and this is posing a new
threat, as icicles are melting from roofs and trees:
We
are trying not to pass under eaves and balconies.
It’s
funny that every year we are faced with the same problem.
It’s
extremely dangerous for both cars and passengers, we must be extremely
careful.
It’s
dangerous to walk under the trees, so I had to walk in the middle of the road.
I don’t
think I would have received any damages and I would have been so upset as I did
not get to use the car, because I just bought it.
At the weekend,
the number of households which did not have electricity had reached 150,000
according to data provided by the Energy Ministry, and the most affected
counties were those in the south and south-east of the country. Also, air
traffic was difficult, and delays were reported because of time-consuming
deicing operations. Road traffic too was hampered by the ice that covered the
power supply lines, and many trains were delayed because of that.
