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BUCHAREST, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A severe snowstorm has been hitting almost all Romania since the midnight, causing traffic paralysis and power outages mostly in the worst-affected southeastern regions on Friday.
The National Meteorology Administration issued bad weather warnings for Friday and put seven southeastern counties under the highest level Code Red warning for snowfalls and blizzards, and more than half of the country under Code Yellow or Orange alerts.
According to the Code Red warning, there will be wind intensifications with gusts exceeding 85 km/h, strong blizzard and snow banks, near zero low visibility.
The national road authorities on Friday decided to close traffic on the national roads and motorways in all of the southeastern counties under Code Red warning.
A full night of snowfall is taking a toll on flight traffic at the two Bucharest airports and several international flights have been already canceled, while many other takeoffs have been delayed for more than one hour due to the need to defrost the aircraft, airport authorities said in a statement.
Meanwhile, at least 60 trains were canceled and many others registered prolonged delays; all ports at the Black Sea have also been closed for traffic on Friday.
The blizzard cut the power in over 100 localities, affecting tens of thousands of people, mostly in the southeastern country.
Elementary and secondary schools in Bucharest and many counties were closed on Friday, according to local authorities.
The Interior Ministry deployed over 9,000 personnel and about 4,500 pieces of equipment to handle all emergencies arising from the adverse weather. Enditem
