Weather services issued yesterday afternoon a yellow code warning to local authorities from Bucharest and the counties located in the southern half of Romania: Caras Severin, Mehedinti, Olt, Gorj, Dolj, Valcea, Arges, Teleorman, Dambovita, Prahova, Giurgiu, Ilfov, Ialomita, Calarasi, Constanta, Tulcea, Braila, Buzau, Vrancea, Bacau, Covasna, Sibiu and Brasov. According to the weather forecast, precipitations will go from 20 liters per square meter in Oltenia, Muntenia and southern Moldavia up to 40 liters in the Banat Mountains and Southern Carpathians. “Precipitations will first come as snow, then - during Wednesday night and Thursday morning - they will turn into sleet and rain, especially at plain and in the hills,” the National Weather Administration (ANM) announced. The weather service also warned against the presence of ice on roads.

According to the Director of the National Meteorology Administration (ANM), Ion Sandu, difficult weather conditions will continue until next Tuesday, containing an alternation of snowfalls and rain, thus fostering ice formation.

Ten national roads - still closed to traffic

Even though the orange code warning ended, snow and blizzard still forced authorities to keep closed to traffic 10 national roads yesterday, in the counties of Buzau, Vrancea, Teleorman, Galati and Calarasi. Until yesterday at noon, the restriction was also in effect on the Branesti-Drajna segment of the A2 motorway, and traffic only resumed after 3.00 PM. Bucharest Mayor Sorin Oprescu gave road maintenance companies 5 days to clear the snow, with bus stops being priority. Everybody is working to get rid of the white blanket. Even the inmates of the Jilava Penitentiary helped yesterday remove the snow surrounding the Care Center No. 1 of Berceni and the Dinamo Arena. The penitentiary also announced it can provide more convicts for snow removal operations.

Over 2,000 policemen, gendarmes and experts of Emergency Inspectorates within the Ministry of Administration and the Interior (MAI) continued - during the last 48 hours - their efforts to free from snow the worst hit localities.

Boc goes on inspection

After an inspection on roads throughout the country, Premier Emil Boc voiced his displeasure for the pace of snow removal operations. Boc made a sudden inspection on the A2 Bucharest-Constanta Motorway and said he did not like what he saw: i.e. snow being removed by “little tractors.” He urged road companies to abstain from participating in tenders, if they cannot honor their contracts. “You should not attend a bid if you cannot present a minimum standard of machines, able to cope with motorways and large roads. I am unhappy with what I saw on the motorway, with the equipment deployed there. I was expecting to find the kind of machines I saw abroad, heavy machines able to cope with 20 cm of snow,” Emil Boc said. He urged road maintenance companies to bring more machines on the Bucharest-Constanta Motorway and clear it soon.

Rescue from high above

In the last 48 hours the snow has been the root cause of several unfortunate events. Thus, a helicopter belonging to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and having a SMURD crew onboard rescued a pregnant woman from Brazi commune, Ialomita County, taking her to a hospital in Bucharest. According to Mediafax, two other MAI helicopters evacuated two pregnant women from the Greaca and Adancata localities (Giurgiu and Ilfov Counties), taking them to maternities in Bucharest.

A motor coach with 17 Romanian passengers onboard, including a child, remained stranded in snow close to Kavarna, Bulgaria, approximately 50 kilometers from the border with Romania. Luckily the road was cleared several hours later. A man with shoulder and chest trauma was taken by ambulance from a locality in Buzau County on Sunday afternoon but reached hospital only yesterday. The reason: the ambulance remained stuck in snow on National Road 22 in Boldu locality.

In Calarasi County nine persons whose cars remained stuck in snow spent their night within the Lehliu city hall building and they will continue to do so until the road that connects the city to Calarasi is reopened.

Back to school

Schools will reopen today in 11 Counties and in Bucharest, while six schools in Braila County and eight schools in Constanta County will nevertheless remain closed, the Education Ministry informed yesterday. The kindergartens and the general schools were temporarily closed on Monday in Bucharest and in 11 other Counties because of the unfavorable weather. Premier Boc stated on Sunday after the Emergency Situations Committee meeting that all school activities will be rescheduled. Over 50 fender benders and three car crashes in Bucharest.