Snowfall in Moldova stops, most roads cleared, main task to restore energy supply - premier
CHISINAU. April 21 (Interfax) - The clean-up effort after a heavy snowfall in Moldova will continue non-stop, a government spokesperson said.
"The emergency headquarters will be working 24 hours a day. The disaster cleanup operation will employ all forces. We have enough resources, people and equipment to combat the disaster. Most national highways have been unblocked, roads and streets in Chisinau cleared both from snow and from fallen trees. Houses in towns have been reconnected to the central-heating system. Right now the main task is to restore energy supply to populated localities," Prime Minister Pavel Filip told the emergency headquarters tasked with the disaster response.
It is necessary to let people know exactly when electricity comes back to their homes, he said.
"Where this takes longer, it is necessary to get power generators to work so that people could get the basic things like cooking food and charging their mobile phones," Filip said.
By Friday evening four sections on national highways, 30 to 100 kilometers long, remain blocked, the meeting was told. According to the latest data, power is still cut off in 586 populated areas, more than a third of their total number.
According to Chisinau municipal service, the snow and strong wind felled about 5,000 trees, damaged over 200 cars and caused more than 160 road accidents. After 4 p.m. Chisinau international airport re-opened but flights are operating with big delays because the airport had been closed since early morning.
Huge traffic jams have formed along the country's border. Bad weather in Moldova has affected the work of checkpoints on the border both with Romania and Ukraine, the Border Guard Service told Interfax. There is huge truck congestion at several checkpoints. The situation is most serious at the Tudora checkpoint on the border with Ukraine.
According to the emergency headquarters, during the snowfall fallen trees left five people with injuries, one dead and one missing.