Tuesday January 10, 2006

Europe's cold snap causes widespread travel disruption

channelnewsasia.com :

Europe braced for more freezing temperatures after blizzards swept through northern and central European countries, disrupting air, road and rail traffic and causing widespread power cuts. Much of the continent was battened down against the harsh weather, the coldest December in a decade in Britain, where temperatures plunged to minus 11 Celsius (12 Fahrenheit) in Scotland and northeastern England. Newspapers reported that a man sleeping rough had been found frozen to death in West Bromwich, central England, where temperatures fell to -7C (23F).

France reported a second death from freezing temperatures after snowstorms left thousands of people trapped in their cars in sub-freezing temperatures this week. A sea search was on overnight off Calvados on France's Normandy coast after a yacht captain fell overboard in "difficult conditions".

High-speed train services from Paris to Lille, as well as Thalys and Eurostar links to London and Brussels, were coping with delays of up to 40 minutes, as drivers were told to reduce their speed. Travellers at airports in Prague, Florence and Charleroi in southern Belgium experienced serious flight disruptions due to heavy snows and swirling winds.

Across Scandinavia, snowstorms cut power lines and disrupted rail and road traffic. 16 people were injured in traffic accidents on icy roads in Finland. A snowstorm also swept Denmark, causing train delays, truck accidents and blocking several smaller roads. In Switzerland, around 20 people were hurt in road accidents. Road traffic was badly disrupted across Poland as well as in Hungary. In Turkey, where snow and ice claimed four lives and cut road access to several thousand villages this week, temperatures dropped to minus 33 Celsius (minus 28 Fahrenheit) in some eastern mountain regions.

(2006-01-10 17:57:01 SGT) [Env] Permalink

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