Tirana, Feb 28 (Tirana Echo) – Heavy snow has crippled most mountainous across Albania with major disruptions in several national roads, while the country’s capital wakes up white.
According to Albania’s road authorities the districts of Korça, Kukës, Shkodra and Dibra are some of the most problematic areas where heavy snow as much as 60cm high has crippled several roads.
Drivers have been warned to stay away from unnecessary travel as several mountainous regions are blocked. The Ministry of Education has said more than 300 schools have been closed today, while several regions are cut off from essential emergency services.
Most of eastern and northern Albania gets blocked by heavy snow every year, cutting off crucial infrastructural links to main cities and emergency services. Compared to its neighbouring Macedonia, Montenegro and Kosovo, Albania is ill equipped to face heavy snow with shortages in infrastructural maintenance during heavy snow periods. Yesterday, a small truck was seen in the northern city of Shkodra with two road workers throwing salt by their bare hands on the city’s streets.
According to the national roads agency of Albania these are the most problematic areas of the country today:
District of Shkodra, Pukë, Fushë-Arrëz, Dibra, Peshkopia, Kukës, Bajram Curri, Fierzë, Librazhd, Stëblevë, District of Korça, Qafë-Thanë, Mountain of LLogara in Vlora and the are of Elbasan.
Drivers have been urged to drive carefully and to be equipped with snow chains when going towards one of the above districts of the country.
Snow continued to fall across parts of the Balkan Peninsula on Tuesday, where totals in excess of 25cm have already been reported in parts of northern Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Snowfall was also reported all the way to the coast in parts of Greece, including Thessaloniki, on Monday. Another storm will bring additional snowfall to parts of the Balkan Peninsula Tuesday night into Wednesday, while light snow is expected from northern Greece into Macedonia, western Bulgaria and western Romania, while another round of heavy snow targets eastern Bulgaria into eastern Romania.
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