An orange code for dangerous weather is in force for Bucharest and 25 counties of Romania due to heavy snowfalls and drifts since last night, the National Meteorological Service reported. In the capital, the snow cover reaches 50 cm, writes BTA.
“It hasn't rained this much in Bucharest since 2008, when the city had 57 cm of snow“, comment forecasters.
In many places in the city, the snow has not been cleared, making it extremely difficult for pedestrians to move around and for cars to park, BTA saw on site.
Bucharest Mayor Ciprian Ciuccu called on residents not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary, and to refrain from using their personal cars to facilitate the intervention of cleaning equipment.
The bad weather also caused flights from Bucharest to Warsaw and Istanbul to be canceled this morning. There are also over 20 canceled trains connecting Bucharest with large cities such as Constanta and Iasi. The port of Constanta is closed.
200,000 households across the country were left without electricity. 266 cities were affected, Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan announced at a press conference broadcast live on the Internet.
The bad weather also caused the cancellation of school classes in many places in Romania.
Since the onset of the adverse weather conditions, Romanian police have registered approximately 1,600 calls to the emergency number 112, or three times more than on a normal day.
The Department of Emergency Situations has issued a series of advice to the population, the most important of which is for people to avoid traveling as much as possible.