site.btaHeavy Snow Causes Disruptions

Heavy Snow Causes Disruptions

Sofia, January 6 (BTA) - Almost all roads in Northeastern Bulgaria are closed to traffic due to heavy snow that fell on the night between Thursday and Friday. Over-12-tonne trucks are banned from travelling on most roads across the country.

More serious disruptions occurred in the northern and eastern parts. All roads in the regions of Shoumen, Razgrad, Silistra, Turgovishte and Rousse were closed to traffic. The situation was almost the same in Dobrich Region.

Sixty-three settlements in Razgrad Region are without electricity and water due to the heavy snowfall and snow drifts, Deputy Regional Governor Nourie Tsrungalova said.

Road closures and power failures were also reported in Lovech Region, where 25 population centres were left without electricity, the local electricity distribution company said.

Over 40 settlements in Turgovishte Region are without electricity.

In Rousse Region the situation is rather serious. Only the regional capital Rousse and two villages have electricity.

Outages have been reported in all regions in Northern and Eastern Bulgaria.

Heavy-duty military machinery is being used to clear roads around the Danube River port of Svishtov, Mayor Gencho Genchev said.

The Balkan Range passes of Petrohan and Troyan-Kurnare have been closed to traffic.

All vehicles travelling in the southern Smolyan Region must have snow chains on their wheels, the Regional Road Administration said.

The snowfall is expected to continue on Friday.

The snow cover in Sofia on Friday morning was 25 cm thick, in Sofia 21 cm and in Shoumen 13 cm. The village of Doulovo in the northeastern Silistra Region had 36 cm.