Snow Blankets Croatia’s Palms as Cold, Winds Hamper East Europe Rescuers
Baku, February 8 (AZERTAC). Romania closed 46 national roads today because of blizzard conditions and four Black Sea ports because of strong winds. Air traffic at the country’s two international airports in Bucharest was also disrupted, the Romanian Transport Ministry said.
Traffic on the Romanian section of the Danube river was also closed after Serbia shut its section of the waterway due to ice flows, the government said. Bulgaria’s border crossings with Romania across the Danube and to Turkey were closed after floods and blizzards blocked roads in the country. A dam burst in the south of Bulgaria, killing eight people, destroying hundreds of livestock and some 200 houses yesterday.
Sections of railroads and highways going to Turkey were swept away by overflowing rivers yesterday, while freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall today hindered rescue and recovery operations. Most of Bulgaria’s southern cities including Haskovo, Harmanli and Kardjali near the Greek and Turkish borders are in a state of emergency. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov has asked the European Union for aid to clean up and rebuild flooded areas.
Fresh Snowfall
As much as 15 centimeters of new snow fell overnight across Austria, slowing traffic on highways, the Central Institute for Meteorlogy and Geodynamics reported. Two blocks of the Danube river were closed at the Ottensheim and Wallsee watergates, it said.
In Serbia, not all the news was bad after more than a week of heavy snowfall.
“The thick layer of snow is a blessing for wheat” sown in the late autumn as it protects the crop from freezing and also guarantees humidity in the spring, said Branislav Gulan of Serbia’s Chamber of Commerce’s agriculture department. Gulan said 30 percent of the barley crop was destroyed by the cold that struck before the snowfall.
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