Freak Winter Storms Hit Southeast Europe
ATHENS (Reuters) - Freak winter storms paralyzed parts of southeastern Europe on Saturday, claiming five lives and prompting Greece to declare a state of emergency in some areas.
The storms blanketed much of Turkey and central and southern Greece with heavy snow, blocking roads and disrupting flights for a second day running.
In Turkey, two men froze to death in the southeast of the country, Turkish television reported. Two more died in the commercial capital, Istanbul, in the icy temperatures.
Greek police found the body of an elderly woman partly covered by snow who had apparently died from the cold in a suburb of the capital, Athens.
From the Aegean coast in the west to northern Black Sea shores, thousands of Turkish villages were snowbound. The blizzards were expected to move east across the country in the coming days and officials warned people not to leave their homes unless it was necessary.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis told reporters it was the worst weather in 40 years and asked citizens to take care and limit their travel.
``I would like to call on all citizens to be careful and limit their movements. This is an unusual phenomenon and beautiful to watch but also dangerous,'' he said.
Athens was covered by up to 20 cm (eight inches) of snow early on Saturday, a rare occurrence which left streets almost deserted and shut down much of Saturday shopping.
The Parthenon temple on top of the Acropolis was closed to visitors and children built snowmen and hurled snowballs in Athens' central Syndagama square.
FLIGHTS, FERRIES DISRUPTED
In the city's northern suburbs, where it was still snowing heavily mid-afternoon, roads were impassable and electricity blackouts were frequent.
A Public Power Corporation official said electricity would be restored throughout the country by the end of the day.
Flights from Athens international airport were severely disrupted, although one runway was open with some planes taking off and landing.
In Istanbul too, some international and domestic flights were canceled on Saturday as blizzards resumed, airport officials said.
Roads were blocked and ferries across the Bosphorus straits were canceled for a second day, Turkey's NTV television said.
The storm, which hit the region on Friday and continued into Saturday, forced the Greek government to declare states of emergency in Attika, the province in which Athens is located, and two neighboring provinces.
More article @
dailynews.yahoo.com |
