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| ROMANIA, SNOWED IN 3/01/2008 |
| (2008-01-03) |
| Last updated: 2008-01-04 15:22 EET |
The New Year kicked off with a cold spell which hit the whole of the northern hemisphere. In Romania, the first snowfall of 2008 has blocked national and county roads and left some families isolated. Ambulances carrying patients were snowed in, trains registered significant delays, while Black Sea ports and several airports were temporarily closed.
The entire traffic system has been disturbed by the heavy snow and blizzards, which started on Wednesday evening. The most affected areas are in the south, east and south-west of the country. Electricity has been cut off in numerous localities and several people died because ambulances could not reach them in time. Several national roads in southern Romania have been closed, especially due to extremely low visibility. Some national and county roads are also blocked.
The area most affected by the snow is the province of Oltenia, in southern Romania, where snowfall already stands at over 50 cm, a figure that continues to grow. In some localities from Dobrogea, south-eastern Romania, winds are exceeding 70 km/h. A carrier loaded with 1,000 tons of corn sank on Wednesday night at the maritime port of Constanta South-Agigea, due to a severe storm which brought 7 metre-high waves.
The situation is no better with regard to airports, with flights seeing significant delays. The main Romanian airport, Bucharest Otopeni, was closed for several hours. Traffic in Bucharest has seriously been affected, with traffic jams both in the centre and at the main entry points into the city, due to the snowfall.
According to forecasts, on Friday the weather will turn frosty in the east, centre and south of the country, where temperatures will reach 20 degrees Celsius bellow zero. Snows and blizzard will extend to the north of the country. The National Committee for Emergency Situations has taken measures for mitigating the effects of the massive snowfalls. These measures concern providing electricity to localities that have been cut off, guaranteeing medical assistance and providing supplementary troops from the Ministry of the Interior.
The Health Ministry has called on hospitals not to release patients who live in remote areas, because of the snow. In places where ambulances cannot get through, military vehicles will also be used for transporting patients.
In neighbouring Bulgaria, over a thousand Romanians were stuck in traffic, returning from the New Year celebrations.
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2025-04-03
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