Heavy snowfall halts daily life across Turkey

ERZURUM

AA photo

Heavy snowfall and blizzards have frozen day-to-day life across Turkey, with hundreds of village roads blocked off in eastern parts of the country.

A total of 837 roads leading to villages in the eastern provinces of Erzurum, Erzincan, Ardahan, Ağrı, Tunceli and Kars were reported to be blocked by heavy snowfall and blizzards, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The lowest temperature was recorded in Ağrı, where the thermometer read -9.5 Celsius.

The Turkish Meteorological Service on Dec. 2 issued a warning of heavy snow in the northern and eastern parts of the country, stating the snow would be intense until the end of the weekend.

Upon the large amount of snowfall and road blockages, primary, elementary and high school classes were canceled on Dec. 4 in the southeastern province of Şırnak, the eastern provinces of Van and Siirt, the western province of Bolu and the Black Sea provinces of Kastamonu, Rize and Artvin, as local governor’s offices declared the day a holiday.

In Rize, meanwhile, some 45 roads leading to villages in the Black Sea province were reportedly blocked off.