State meteorologists said yesterday that adverse weather conditions would continue to present a danger in eastern Turkish provinces, with even colder temperatures on the way. Two days of continuous snow in Ağrı had left 369 roads to villages and rural areas cut off from the city center as of the early afternoon yesterday, with municipal teams working furiously to clear paths. In the province’s Doğubayazıt district, six people were injured while clearing snow off their rooftops. In another district, strong winds accompanying the freezing weather blew the roof off an elementary school and caused blackouts in some areas.Officials are urging residents to take extra precautions in the adverse weather, both at home and on the road throughout Turkey’s East. In Erzurum, 419 village and rural roads to the provincial center were obstructed by heavy snowfall yesterday. In addition, some parts of a local highway were closed due to snowfall and icy conditions. On Monday night, the lowest recorded temperature in eastern Anatolia was recorded as -15 degrees Celsius in Erzurum, with the warmest being 13 degrees in Bayburt.
In Bitlis, roads were blocked by heavy snowfall, leaving 35 passengers from four minibuses stranded for hours until buses were sent to rescue them yesterday morning; 205 village roads in the province were blocked by snow as of yesterday afternoon.
Snowfall is expected to take a five-day break, but icy conditions will persist, meteorologists warn. On the other hand, the chilly weather is good news for winter sports enthusiasts in some parts of the country, with the snow level in Bolu reaching one meter and positive conditions at other winter resorts.
