Villages cut off
Albania: Frigid weather has caused at least four deaths in the last three days In Albania. Snow has stopped falling, but freezing temperatures continue to engulf the whole country. At least four people have died while scores of villages mainly in the north and northeast have been isolated and power and water cuts have been introduced, including the capital.The health and education ministry decided to keep classes suspended for students.
Yellow alert
Bulgaria: The situation in northeastern Bulgaria remains critical with heavy snow drifts on the roads, freezing temperatures and power outages that have affected some 2,000 households. Emergency teams trying to clear the roads to remote villages were hindered by strong winds. Authorities issued a Yellow Code alert for low temperatures across Bulgaria beginning Monday. Schools across the country remained closed.
Sea freezes
Croatia: Freezing temperatures and strong winds have created havoc along Croatia’s Adriatic coast, which isn’t used to such cold winters. Even the sea froze in shallow bays, trapping fishermen’s boats to the amazement of locals who haven’t seen anything like this in decades. The temperatures in Croatia’s tourist centres of Dubrovnik and Split dropped to —7C and strong winds blew off ancient pine and olive trees on the coast.
Deaths from exposure
Czech Republic: According to Czech public radio, six people are believed to have died of exposure during the latest cold snap, including in the capital, Prague. Meteorologists forecast freezing temperatures to continue in the coming days. Temperatures have hit —15C during the nights, with the mercury barely making to to —5C, with the cold snap to last until at least the end of the week
Schools shut in Italy
Italy: Schools were closed in a handful of southern Italy cities not accustomed to such heavy snowfall. Individual schools also closed in Rome and Bologna because heaters weren’t working, news reports said. The sub-freezing temperatures have been blamed for the deaths of at least eight people and have disrupted road, rail, air and ferry travel.
Power out in Kosovo
Kosovo: Snow continued to blanket the whole country and left many areas without power. Police blamed the weather for the death on Monday of an ethnic Albanian man whose body was found on a forest road. Though all national roads were open, police advised careful driving and low speeds. Rural roads are either blocked or hard to drive. Power has been cut in many areas around the country.
65 dead since November
Poland: The government says 10 people died in the cold as Poland has been gripped by low temperatures. The deaths bring to 65 the number of weather-related fatalities since November 1, when temperatures started falling to freezing, especially at night. The latest victims were nine men between the ages of 32 and 69, and a 52-year-old woman.
Prisoners clear snow
Romania: Bucharest Mayor Gabriela Firea said inmates from two prisons would be put to work clearing snow alongside anti-riot police in the Romanian capital. The inmates working on snow removal are doing so voluntarily, Firea said.
She said the initiative would help clean up the capital’s ice-clogged streets, which are only partially cleared. The country’s power grid is stretched to its limit.
—31C in Moscow
Russia: In Moscow, two people have died and 190 people with hypothermia have sought medical help in the Russian capital between New Year’s Eve and January 8, the last day of the holiday period in Russia. The Russian Meteorological Service said the Orthodox Christmas Eve on January 6 was the coldest in Moscow since 1987 when temperatures plunged below —31C. Moscow schools, however, were opened on Monday after the holiday recess.
State of emergency
Serbia: Authorities have declared emergency measures in 11 municipalities in central and southern parts of the country as fresh snow and extremely low temperatures have blocked roads and cut off villages. Residents in remote villages on the rough Golija mountain have refused offers from authorities to evacuate their homes during the —28C freeze because they won’t abandon their animals.
Alpine tragedy
Switzerland: Police in Valais say a Russian couple were killed and their two children aged 11 and 15 were gravely injured over the weekend after the vehicle they were travelling in tumbled about 225 metres along a snow-covered Alpine road. Officials said the driver had been trying to park on the roadside, and snowy conditions appeared to have led to the deadly plunge into a pile of rocks.
Istanbul Airport chaos
Turkey: Turkish Airlines cancelled 277 domestic and international flights to and from Istanbul’s two airports due to heavy snow. Schools around Istanbul also were closed. Istanbul ferries on the Bosporus Strait that provide transportation for many commuters in the city straddling the narrow gap between Asia and Europe were also stopped and motorists were struggling to keep control on slippery roads.
