Romania this week has been
\nconfronted with the first snowfall of the winter season. Unlike previous years
\nhowever, it did not wreak havoc in terms of road, air, railway and maritime
\ntraffic. Be that as it may, many people were killed due to the low temperatures
\nthat in some areas dropped below minus 20 degrees Celsius. Meteorologists on
\nSunday issued a code yellow alert against blizzards for the south and
\nsouthwest. In these areas, the fierce wind made temperatures in the low 20s
\nfeel even colder. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Gradually, the cold snap got a grip
\nof the entire country, with snowfalls, glazed frost and violent gusts of wind
\nreported all across Romania. The freshly fallen snow was layered in drifts
\nlower than 10 cm. Road traffic currently unfolds in winter conditions, although
\nno roads have been blocked or closed down. Several rail segments are now
\nsubject to speed restrictions and delays are to be expected, although no trains
\nhave been cancelled. Air traffic is only slightly affected, with minor delays
\nreported for some flights. The activity on the Black Sea ports has been
\ntemporarily put on hold due to the high winds. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Also in Bucharest, traffic is slow,
\nas many streets and main boulevards are covered in snow, while snowdrifts block
\nsidewalks. At the Tuesday meeting of the Winter Command, Bucharest interim
\nmayor Razvan Sava asked snow removal contractors to clear the access ways to
\nhospitals, medical emergency operators and other buildings of social interest.
\nAdditionally, Razvan Sava said snowplows would be patrolling the streets,
\nincluding roads carrying less traffic. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Interior Minister Petre Toba said
\nthat 6,700 police officers intervened at national level to limit the effects of
\nthe snowfall, with over 3,300 vehicles, in order to prevent people from getting
\nsnowed in their cars or exposed to other risks. Additionally, the authorities
\nhave alerted the population, particularly car owners, as regards traffic on
\npublic roads. Some 300 fines were given to drivers for failure to observe
\nwinter traffic regulations, as well as to road administrators, for not clearing
\nthe roads. 42 people left stranded were rescued and transferred to social
\nshelters. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
After the first snow of the winter
\nseason, the weather forecast for the next 10 days will bring a slight increase
\nin temperatures during the day. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Several people have died in Romania because of the cold and snow, while travel has been disrupted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[19347,31368,29220],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-66753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-romania","tag-snow","tag-weather"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n