Romania under snow

romania under snow A new cold wave, accompanied by heavy snowfalls and blizzards, hits south-eastern Romania.

Blizzards, heavy snowfalls, closed roads, restricted traffic and one county, Braila, completely isolated from the rest of the country for one night - this would be a brief description of the situation in the south-east of the country, currently under code orange and yellow warnings for bad weather. National and county roads, including the motorway linking the capital to Constanta County have been blocked or closed by the authorities, because of the strong blizzard. Constanta County is now practically isolated, as most of its roads have been closed. The code orange alert has also led to the closing of the Romanian ports on the Black Sea. Hundreds of cars have remained stranded in the snow, and several trucks have drifted and blocked traffic in the county.


The capital city too has been seriously affected. All streets have been covered in snow and public transportation has been hampered, although the Bucharest General Mayor Gabriela Firea has given assurances that the capital is not blocked. She has stated that priority is given to the unblocking of the areas where there are schools, hospitals and public institutions. The mayor has also decided that schools and kindergartens remain closed the entire week to protect children from snow and cold.


Because of the extreme weather lately, some one hundred train journeys were cancelled on Wednesday morning alone. The National Railway Company announced on Wednesday morning that snow removal equipment was being used along the Bucharest, Craiova, Galati and Constanta routes to clear the tracks and thus maintain the connection between the main cities. Traffic through Vama Veche border-crossing point was also closed last night, as the Bulgarians did not allow any vehicle coming from Romania to cross the border. Air travel has been disrupted as well, with dozens of flights, both domestic and international, being delayed.


As regards medical emergency, ambulances responded to the calls made on Tuesday night accompanied by caterpillars, especially in the areas where access was particularly difficult. From Tuesday morning until Wednesday morning, ambulance and paramedic services responded to approximately ten thousand medical emergencies. According to the Emergency Department, during the same interval, some 250 pregnant women and 150 dialysis patients were evacuated. Also, 200 homeless people were taken to day and night shelters. In the coming days, weather forecasts bring partially good news.


It will still be extremely cold until Thursday morning, all across the country, with lows reaching minus 17 degrees Centigrade. Then, temperatures will start to go up, but will bring along frozen rain, which will increase the risk of glaze covering the roads. 



www.rri.ro
Publicat: 2017-01-11 12:53:00
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