Europe witnesses worst winter in 30 years

VIENNA, Austria: This week, heavy snowfall from the worst winter in over 30 years battered parts of Europe, causing fatal avalanches, major traffic and power disruptions and leaving more than 21 people dead across the continent.

On Friday, several parts of Europe were brought to a standstill as extreme winter storms dumped up to two metres of snowfall in several regions, Florida Statesman reported. Several passengers were stranded as flights and trains in many countries were cancelled.

Motorists in various parts of Europe too were impacted as heavy snow made driving conditions perilous. Schools and several resorts across continental Europe were shut as heavy snow cut off remote mountain villages and hit power supplies.

Parts of Europe declared a state of emergency as the death toll from weather related incidents rose to 21 on Saturday. With meteorologists warning of more snow over the weekend, Germany and Austria sought assistance from the army, which brought in tanks and troops to rescue citizens from neck-deep snow.

On Saturday, forecasters said that more snow is expected to batter central and northern Europe until the middle of next weekend. Weather experts also announced that avalanche warnings across the region were now at critical levels. Late on Friday, authorities in Bulgaria said that two snowboarders had died in a brutal avalanche.

According to a statement released by the Bulgarian Red Cross, the bodies of two snowboarders was found on Friday afternoon, in the Pirin Mountains in the southwest of the country. The Red Cross noted that the snowboarders had ignored the warnings and weather alerts issued by local authorities after conditions worsened in the area. In Albania, authorities said that nearly 2,000 soldiers had been deployed to assist in the nationwide rescue effort as weather conditions worsened at the end of the week.

Authorities have said that a large-scale emergency operation is underway to rescue those trapped in the snow. Meteorologists in Montenegro announced this week that the country was witnessing its coldest January in decades.

Montenegrin state TV quoted Meteorologist Dragan Buric as saying that the first ten days of January have been among the coldest in the country in decades. Buric reportedly said, "We have snow in January the capital city (Podgorica) for the first time in nine years." According to Austrian meteorologist Alexander Radlherr, “Such quantities of snow above 800m altitude only happen once every 30 to 100 years.”