LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – A snowstorm with high winds caused traffic chaos on a major highway and other roads in Slovenia on Monday while also knocking out power in parts of the country.
According to officials, the late Sunday snowfall caused over a dozen traffic accidents overnight, with fallen trees blocking local roads and downing power lines, including in the capital Ljubljana.
Slovenians were advised not to travel unless necessary. Because of the bad weather, huge lines of cars continued to crawl at a snail’s pace along many roads across the country Monday morning.
High winds caused some sections of the highway connecting the Adriatic coast to Ljubljana to be closed. Heavy vehicles have been prohibited on the Alpine country’s affected roads.
Meteorologists predict that the snow will be gone by Tuesday.
Slovenia At A StandStill
Last weekend’s strong winds caused 200 people to call for help in the nearby country of Croatia.
On Monday, snow disrupted traffic in Croatia after blanketing parts of the Adriatic coast and some of the country’s islands.
Due to strong winds, most ferry lines were shut down on Monday, cutting off the majority of Croatian islands, according to state television HRT.
Strong winds in Zagreb brought down scaffolding around a building that was being fixed up in a central square. No one was hurt. HRT says that a lot of snow and wind in the north stopped traffic in the mountainous Gorski Kotar region.
Some Remote Villages Without Electricity
After a lot of snow fell over the weekend, some remote villages in neighboring Montenegro had trouble getting electricity.
Floods caused by torrential rains hit the Balkan countries last week. Many rivers and streams in the area overflowed, which flooded homes and farmland and caused landslides.
Serbian officials said Monday that they had found the body of the second person who died in flooding in the country’s southwest last week. The two men drowned after being swept away by a raging river in Novi Pazar.
SOURCE – (AP)
