An unusually severe onset of winter has plunged Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova into snow chaos. More than a thousand towns are cut off from power supply. Some regions declared a state of emergency.
Four regions in Bulgaria have declared a state of emergency due to particularly heavy snowfall. The north-east of the country is particularly affected. As Prime Minister Nikolaj Denkow announced, 1,000 towns are currently without electricity. In the capital Sofia, power supply was also interrupted in the southern parts of the city due to damaged cables, Bulgarian media reported.
Country roads were reportedly impassable due to all the snow. Broken branches blocked roadways. Passenger trains from the Black Sea city of Varna to Sofia stopped due to damaged power lines. Important passes in the Balkan Mountains were temporarily completely closed to traffic. Several international flights were canceled at Varna airport. The planes took off late at Sofia airport.
There are also apparently three dead. According to the Bulgarian broadcaster Nova, a homeless man froze to death in the freezing cold. He was found lifeless near garbage cans in Kazanlak, central Bulgaria. The AP news agency reported that two people died in traffic accidents and 36 were injured by the stormy weather.
Black Sea port of Constanta paralyzed
Snowstorms and drifts also caused chaos in eastern Romania. Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja told the AP news agency that power was out in more than 400 towns amid the winter weather. Repair crews are on the way. The weather warning level red was in effect in the eastern districts of Constanta, Tulcea, Galati and Braila. According to the National Meteorological Authority, wind speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour were expected there.
The motorway bypass near the Black Sea port city of Constanta remained temporarily closed, as did the Danube bridge near Braila. The port of Constanta and all other ports on the Romanian Black Sea ceased operations. Part of Ukraine’s grain exports are being processed through Romania and its Black Sea ports after the Russian military blocked the regular sea route across the Black Sea with threats of violence.
A man dies in Moldova
Moldova is also affected by the onset of winter. According to the police, a 40-year-old man drove his vehicle off the road due to the weather and crashed into a tree. He was killed. The police called on Telegram to avoid non-essential trips.