Hungary closed the Danube to river traffic
on Friday because of thick ice, bringing shipping to a near standstill on Europe's busiest waterway, as the continent's cold snap
death toll reached past 540, reports AFP.
"Shipping
was ordered stopped overnight Thursday to Friday because of conditions created
by icing along the Hungarian part of the river," Istvan Lang, who heads
the national technical supervisory body OMIT said.
"All
ships still underway must immediately head for the closest harbour," Lang,
quoted by MTI news agency, said.
Other
countries along the Danube, including Austria,
Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria, had already suspended
river traffic because of the freeze.
The
2,860-kilometre (1,780-mile) river, which flows through 10 countries and is
vital for transport, power, irrigation, industry and fishing, was nearly wholly
blocked from Austria to its
mouth on the Black Sea.
In
Hungary,
60 to 70 percent of the river was frozen, with only ice-breakers remaining in
action, especially in the south of the country, officials said.
The
cold snap, which started two weeks ago, is expected to continue until
mid-February, forecasters said.
In
neighbouring Serbia,
"the situation is relatively better then in the previous days as the snow
stopped and the emergency services will focus today on delivering food to endangered
regions," Predrag Maric Serbia's chief emergency official told state
television.
Helicopters
were to deliver food to remote areas of south-western Serbia which
have been trapped in snow for days, he added. Some 70,000 people were still cut
off from the outside world.
Temperatures
in Serbia hit a new low
Friday with with minus 26 degrees Celsius (minus -14.8 Fahrenheit) in the
northern town Sombor and minus 15 degrees Celsius in the capital Belgrade at 0500 GMT.
In
Bosnia,
20,000 homes in the southern towns of Mostar and Nevesinje and surrounding
villages were connected again to the electrical grid after three days without
power, Pero Pavlovic of the Civil Protection services said Friday.
"Some
small hamlets are still without electricity but it should be re-established
shortly," Pavlovic added.
In
Romania,
13 died of cold overnight Thursday to Friday, bringing the overall toll to 57
since the start of the cold spell, officials said.
Over
20,000 people are cut off by snow in the east of the country with food supplies
running out, they added.
In
some villages, such as Varasti, in the south of the country, where four metres
of snow (13 feet) have fallen, inhabitants had to tunnel their way out of their
homes or exit through top windows.
"I
fear all my hens and turkeys are dead," said Varasti resident Marin
Boacana, 60, pointing to his snow-covered chicken coop.
In
Italy,
where the cold has killed more than 45 in the past 10 days, snow started to
fall anew on Friday.
A
42-year Romanian woman, believed to be sleeping rough and who had found shelter
in a cave in the Rome suburbs, was found frozen
to death, while a man was reported attacked by scavenging stray dogs near Rimini.
Motorways
banned some heavy truck traffic in the northeast of the country, while rail
services and Bologna
airport experienced delays.
In
Rome, where
forecasters predict up to 30 centimetres (11 inches) of fresh snow, all schools
were closed on Friday.
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