The Beast batters Europe
Scotland on alert as wild weather causes havoc
Persistent snow and freezing conditions from a Siberian cold snap are continuing to cause chaos across Europe. The icy weather, dubbed the “Beast From the East” snarled transit yesterday and caused a handful of deaths across a swathe of Europe from Britain to the Balkans.
Britain’s weather office issued an alert for Scotland, warning that heavy snow and strong winds would bring widespread damage, disruption and risk to life.
“People should ask themselves the question: Is this journey absolutely and utterly essential? If not, do not travel,” Scottish Transport Minister Humza Youssef said.
The weather caused cancellations at Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, and Scottish Premiership football matches were cancelled.
Trains were cancelled across the north and east of Britain and as far south as London, where several subway lines experienced severe delays, including the Piccadilly Line that links central London to Heathrow Airport.
Emergency officials said many drivers had to be rescued from stranded vehicles. Hundreds of schools were shut for a second day.
The weather also forced hospitals to cancel elective procedures and outpatient care.
France’s national weather agency, Meteo France, put a large part of the country on alert for dangerous levels of snow, ice and violent wind.
Urging people to limit movement, Meteo France snowfall would continue tomorrow.
Several deaths were attributed to the cold snap, including a 75-year-old man who fell through ice in the Netherlands, likely while skating.
A 38-year old man was found dead on a frozen river in northern Germany amid continuing sub-zero temperatures across the country, according to German news agency dpa.
In Denmark, a 54-year-old man who suffered from dementia was found dead in the snow on the Baltic their said until Sea island of Bornholm, police said.
In southern Serbia, another man suffering from dementia was found frozen to death on Wednesday after he disappeared from his home two days earlier.
An elderly man died of cold when he went out to collect wood near Maribor in Slovenia, authorities there said. Temperatures in the country fell as low as -27C.
Snowfall of up to 1.1m blanketed all of Albania, including a rare accumulation in the capital, Tirana. Many schools in the countryside did not have classes.
Snow has blocked many roads and damaged power pylons across Albania, leading to power cuts in many rural areas.
In Kosovo, the Education Ministry closed all elementary and high schools due to the extreme weather. Temperatures were expected to drop to as low as -23C.
Freezing weather also limited traffic and closed down schools in Croatia, with snow falling even along the Adriatic coast.
The cold snap saw a snowman built in Venice’s St Mark’s Square, while snow delayed Formula One testing at the Circuit de CatalunyaBarcelona. — AP