Cold weather grips Romania, closing roads and leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity

The end of November has brought snow, blizzards, and freezing weather in some areas of Romania, closing roads, shutting off power, or stranding people in their cars. A Red Code for blizzard covered counties in the southeastern part of the country over the weekend, while several others were under Orange or Yellow alerts.

The report published by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) indicates that in the last 24 hours, the capital and 177 localities in 22 counties were affected by severe weather conditions. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded in the snow, and numerous trees were brought down, causing some material damage. 

"In the last 24 hours, blizzards, heavy snowfall, and strong winds have had effects on 177 localities in 22 counties and the city of Bucharest. Firefighters, together with other structures and authorities involved in managing situations caused by severe weather, intervened to unblock 666 snow-covered vehicles, clear 543 trees, and remove 3 fallen electric poles from the roadway. As a result of these events, 12 buildings and 58 vehicles were damaged. Additionally, due to heavy precipitation, our colleagues intervened to evacuate water from 13 yards and 1 basement," said IGSU.

The counties affected by the severe weather are Alba, Argeș, Bacău, Brăila, Brașov, Buzău, Călărași, Caraș Severin, Constanța, Covasna, Dâmbovița, Gorj, Galați, Hunedoara, Ialomița, Mehedinți, Prahova, Sibiu, Tulcea, Vâlcea, Vrancea, and Vaslui.

To warn the population in the affected areas, nine messages were issued through the RO-ALERT system in the context of meteorological warnings at the level of 12 counties: Argeș, Brăila, Brașov, Călărași, Constanța, Dâmbovița, Galați, Ialomița, Prahova, Sibiu, Tulcea, and Vâlcea. 

The National Road Company announced that 21 sections of national roads were still closed on Monday morning, November 27. No traffic is allowed on any road in Tulcea County, as announced by the Delta Emergency Inspectorate.

Roads in Tulcea County were closed to traffic Monday morning until snow removal equipment made them passable, announced the Delta Emergency Inspectorate, mentioning that there are still cars stuck in the snow in the county, and 53 localities are without electricity. Around 7:00 AM, seven cars were stuck in the county, and 11 people requested assistance from firefighters, according to Digi24. 

Local authorities and firefighters rescued 88 people from cars stranded in snowdrifts over the weekend. The snow layer reaches up to two meters in some areas, according to the Delta Emergency Inspectorate. 

Schools were also closed in the counties of Constanța, Tulcea, Galați, Brăila, and Călărași. Authorities made this decision due to the roads, which are still covered with snowdrifts of up to two meters, and numerous power outages that left over 300,000 consumers without electricity over periods of the weekend. 

Roughly 190,000 consumers in 11 counties still did not have access to electricity on Monday morning due to disruptions in power supply networks caused by blizzards, strong winds, and heavy snowfall. 

Snow removal crews are actively operating with equipment and anti-skid materials in the counties of Bacău, Brăila, Constanța, Galați, Tulcea, and Vaslui, where some road sections remain blocked on the morning of November 27.

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(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Ovidiu Iordachi)