Chief of Serbian State of Emergency Department, Mr Predrag Marić, said that 9 people have died of freezing weather in Serbia, Tanjug news agency has reported. There is an ongoing search operation trying to reach another missing person. 32 of 150 municipalities in Serbia have declared a state of emergency due to unusually cold and snowy winter, and the officials are to decide later today whether a state of emergency will be declared for the complete territory of the country. After several days of continuous snowfalls, Sunday is forecast to be mostly dry, while a new wave of blizzards is expected to begin on Monday.

More than 5,000 local roads are under snow, leaving some 70,000 people completely cut off from the world. This is despite the efforts of thousands of workers to clean the roads and re-establish the electricity supply. Serbian Ministry of Education and Science has ordered the closure of all schools during the next week, as the weather is deemed too dangerous for students, especially those travelling larger distances to their schools every day.

Serbian capital of Belgrade (pictured above) has also been severely hit by the snowfalls. Some 30 cm (12 in) of snow there has caused huge problems in traffic. Many roads are impassable and the tram lines have been suspended, making it nearly impossible for a large number of commuters to reach their workplaces. Schools in Belgrade have been closed since Friday, and there have been problems with heating in many parts of the city as well. Streets have been largely cleaned by now with the help of some 2,000 volunteers, despite the temperature of -14 °C (7 °F).

Other countries of the Balkans region have also seen problems caused by the bad weather. A state of emergency has been declared in the capital of Sarajevo and several other municipalities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hundreds of people there are stranded on roads because of snow, while many border checkpoints are closed. Herzegovina region has seen up to half a meter of snow, the largest amount in the last 100 years.

In Montenegro, temperatures have plunged to unusually low -19 °C (-2 °F). Northern regions have been completely cut off from the rest of the country. Even Montenegro’s seaside resorts have had some 5 cm (2 in) of snow, while the thickness of the snow layer in other areas surpasses 1 meter (3 ft.). All flights out of Podgorica Airport are cancelled, while coach services are heavily delayed. Similar is the situation in nearby Croatia.

Many other parts of Europe have also been hit by blizzards and freezing weather. The situation is worst in Ukraine, where more than 120 people have died due to temperatures as low as -33 °C (-27 °F). 45 people have died in Poland, which has had some extremely low temperatures as well. Deaths due to freezing weather have also been reported in Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and France, among other countries, bringing the death toll in Europe to over 250 people.

Photo: TANJUG