BUCHAREST, Feb. 21 — Heavy snow, strong winds and icy conditions on Saturday again disrupted roads, maritime ports and power supplies across southern and eastern Romania, with emergency teams working to assist stranded residents.
According to the Department for Emergency Situations, emergency services were responding in 16 localities across seven counties and Bucharest, assisting around 75 people stranded in 46 vehicles.
The authority said no highways were closed and rail traffic was mostly unaffected, but several national roads faced restrictions.
Power outages were reported in 12 localities across five counties, affecting roughly 1,222 consumers.
One runway at Constanta’s Mihail Kogalniceanu International Airport was closed until 4:00 p.m. due to icy conditions.
Maritime traffic resumed in Constanta North and South ports, but ship maneuvers remained suspended in Mangalia and Midia, while operations at the Sulina Bara in Tulcea county also remained halted.
Romania’s National Meteorological Administration (ANM) has issued a Code Yellow warning for strong winds, heavy precipitation and blizzard conditions affecting 16 counties and Bucharest through Sunday morning.
Forecasters said wind gusts of 50 to 60 kilometers per hour, locally reaching 65 to 70 kilometers per hour, will impact southern Moldova, Muntenia, the Curvature Carpathians, southeastern Oltenia and Dobrogea.
Precipitation will begin as a mix of rain and snow, creating glazed frost and black ice in some areas, before turning to snow elsewhere.
Snow accumulations of 15 to 20 centimeters are expected, with localized precipitation totals of 15 to 30 liters per square meter.
Visibility may drop below 100 meters during blizzard conditions.
Severe snowfall and blizzard conditions had already swept across southern and southeastern Romania on Feb. 18, disrupting road, air and maritime traffic earlier in the week. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
