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| ROMANIA UNDER SNOW 18/12/2009 |
| (2009-12-18) |
| Last updated: 2009-12-21 13:36 EET |
South and south-eastern Romania is paralysed by the snow that's been falling quite heavily this week. Despite warnings issued in due time by meteorologists, just like always before, the local authorities were caught on the wrong foot.
That is why the press in Bucharest has done nothing but give a dry account of what's been happening: closed national and county roads, abandoned cars, localities with no electricity, hampered road, railway and air traffic. How did the authorities react?
Prime Minister Emil Boc checked with the Operational Centre of the Interior Ministry to see if they were prepared. The blizzard brought havoc in the capital, both on the main boulevards and on the secondary streets. The city hall has pompously announced that over 350 snow plough trucks have been brought to the streets, but reality seems to be quite different. On the one hand, the mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, is unhappy with the citizens' lack of reaction, as most of them have done nothing to clear the snow in front of their houses. On the other hand, Bucharesters believe that the snow removal equipment started to be used too late and mostly just for show.
The police too seem unable to deal with the situation, as what they see is angry drivers, blocked roads and intersections, bumping or sliding cars. The Health Ministry is one of the very few institutions that have taken concrete measures. The ministry ordered that patients who need treatment and reside in localities that run the risk of being isolated by snow be admitted to the county hospitals.
People travelling by train have not been any luckier. Trains have been up to 16 hours late, with passengers freezing in the unheated train cars. Air traffic has been hampered too, and many domestic and external flights have been delayed or cancelled. The only ones who are happy about what's been happening are children, who are on holiday and can now play in the snow as much as they like.
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