Cold weather batters northeastern Romania, closing roads and schools

Winter returned to Romania this week with rather unusual low temperatures, heavy snowfall and strong winds that forced the authorities to close roads, suspend activities in ports, and even keep the schools closed for a while. The situation got even worse in Moldova region, in northeastern Romania, which was under a red code for blizzards and snow until Thursday morning, April 6. Emergency teams responded to many calls, rescuing drivers blocked on the roads or removing trees that fell due to wind gusts of up to 85 km per hour. And the bad weather is forecasted to continue in the coming days.

Romania’s meteorological service ANM issued an orange and a yellow code notice for most of the Moldova region, but also for Maramures, Transylvania, and the north part of Crisana, in the west. Strong wind and snow are expected, especially in Moldova.

The notice, valid for Thursday and Friday, follows the red code alert for numerous areas in the Iasi, Neamt, Suceava, and Botosani counties, all in the region of Moldova. The code was for strong blizzards with gusts of 75 to 85 km/h, heavy snowfall, snowdrifts, and snow piles, and a visibility level reduced to zero.

Bad weather closed schools in the Botosani, Iasi, and Neamt counties, and the same region is still battered by snow. Authorities also closed all roads in Botosani and Iasi counties over Wednesday night after numerous cars were left stranded. Many roads are still closed - the Romanian police is publishing updated lists here.

Current weather conditions required emergency services to go out and rescue those stranded in their cars, or those in need of care. One such case had responders assist with the birth of a newborn through video call after the ambulance sent out for the mother could not reach her. Both the mother and the 2.8 kg baby girl are healthy and in good condition, cared for by a local nurse.

Two school buses were left stranded due to the snow in Iasi county on Wednesday. One of the buses carried 51 children and 5 adults, while the other had 33 kids and 4 adults on board.

“We covered 100 meters in 4 hours. It’s not possible to move at all, so we called 112 (the emergency service number) and were told to be patient,” a teacher on one of the buses told G4Media.