Code red for dangerous weather conditions because of the heavy snow

A code "red" for dangerous weather conditions was announced by Regional Minister Liliana Pavlova yesterday. The warning came shortly before 15:00 hrs in the afternoon because of the heavy snow which started in the western parts of the country as early as Tuesday night.

Code red means that the weather is very dangerous. Major damage can be expected and the natural phenomena can endanger the lives of a significant part of the population. When this code is announced, people should follow the orders given by the authorities and the population must be prepared to take extraordinary measures.

”The traffic of heavy vehicles of over 10 tonnes is prohibited. The ban will apply until further notice,” said Liliana Pavlova, who headed the crisis centre which was set up because of the disastrous situation. By the time Klassa daily went to press, the ban remained in force.

Pavlova warned citizens to avoid going on trips, unless it is an emergency. Most roads in the country were passable but officials from the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works announced that it is possible for truck traffic to be stopped in order not to interfere with the snow removal equipment.

"The temperature is minus 15 degrees Celsius at the Vitinya Pass. Salt and the standard materials we apply freeze and we cannot remove the snow properly", said yesterday afternoon to Focus agency Liliana Pavlova.

There were restrictions on heavy vehicles at all mountain passes and the high parts in the regions of Blagoevgrad, Smolyan, Pazardzhik. Automobile snow chains were compulsory for passenger cars.

Minister of Transport Ivaylo Moskovski announced that there will be no restrictions on bus services. Railway transport was normal except for the section Krastets- Dabovo -Rudartsi where fallen branches could affect the electrical grid.

The ports in Varna and Burgas were closed, and aircraft that had to land at Sofia Airport were redirected to Thessaloniki, Skopje and Bucharest. The runway at the airport was cleaned every 30 minutes but, despite this fact, the flights from Sofia took off with delays.

An emergency situation was declared in three municipalities - Lovech, Svoge and Godech.

Yesterday, the worst situation was in the region of Russe where major roads were closed for traffic. Romania, which declared code red in the morning, closed its part of the Danube river bridge. Trucks were stopped at our border crossings with Turkey and Greece. The trucks from Serbia and Macedonia were allowed to pass but only with snow chains.

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