Europe is a little shaky under the siberian cold, at least 46 dead

AFP

AFP

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 11:16

UPDATE
Wednesday, 28 February 2018 11:31

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The wave of siberian cold that is raging in Europe had made more than forty dead on Wednesday, including many homeless people, and continued to wreak havoc in the transport system.

Nicknamed “The Beast of the East” by the british media, “The Bears of Siberia” in the netherlands, the “snow canon” in Sweden or the “Moscow-Paris” in France, this cold wave has killed at least 46 people dead since Friday, according to a count of the offices of the AFP: ten-eight in Poland, six in the Czech Republic, five in Lithuania, four in France and in Slovakia, two in Italy as well as in Romania, Serbia and Slovenia; a in the netherlands. In Estonia, the cold has killed seven people in February.

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In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the mercury fell to -21°C in the mountainous regions of Croatia and Bosnia, -20°C to Lübeck in northern Germany, -19°C in the south of Poland, -18°C near Liège in Belgium and -10°C in the London area.

In Switzerland, a negative peak of -36°C was recorded at Glattalp, at 1,850 metres altitude, in a place uninhabited customary to this type of extreme. In France, on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday was the coldest winter in the northeast, with -12°C to Metz.

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The frigid temperatures, which should persist through Thursday, affecting mainly the homeless. Three of them perished in France and in the Czech Republic since Friday, and two in Italy, one of which refused to leave the place where he slept outside in Milan.

Rush in the supermarkets

In Belgium, several cities have made the decision unprecedented, forcing the homeless people to reach a shelter.

In Germany, the Association of aid for the homeless has claimed that the reception centres are open throughout the day and not just at night: “You can also die of cold during the day,” insisted Werena Rosenke, at the head of the association, who has recorded four deaths due to cold since the beginning of the winter.

In France, the minister of territorial Cohesion Jacques Mézard announced that 150,000 places of emergency accommodation were available, “a figure never before attained”.

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“Those who have a house can also prove to be vulnerable by this time. If you have neighbors who are elderly or fragile, check that they are safe and sound, that they have a sufficient stock of food and medicines in them and that they keep their dwelling warm (at least 18°C), has asked the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

In Ireland, people flocked into supermarkets to stockpile food at the approach of the storm Emma, which should cause Thursday, the most significant falls of snow on the country since 1982. The photos of ray bread voids were appearing on social networks. The authorities have decreed “red alert” and asked all the inhabitants of the provinces of Munster (south-west) and Leinster (east) to stay in the shelter between 16h Thursday and 12pm Friday.

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Across Europe, the snow and ice wreaked havoc on the roads and disrupted traffic in the air and rail. Many flights were cancelled or delayed at airports in the uk. In Ireland, the company’s low-cost Ryanair has cancelled all of its flights departure and arrival in Dublin.

Skaters fell into the water

In the netherlands, the fever of skating has engulfed the country. In spite of the feel-like ” temperatures of -15°C in places, the conditions were not, however, ideal to practice this sport: in Hank, in the west of the country, a man of 75 years died Wednesday, falling in the frigid water after falling through the ice too fine. Several accidents similar have been reported in villages near Utrecht and Amsterdam, but the victims were able to be rescued on time.

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The tabloid Österreich was awarded the palm leaf of “job the most frigid of Austria” in Ludwig Rasser and Norbert Daxbacher, employees at the weather station of Sonnblick to 3,109 meters of altitude, three times per day, must get out to perform the readings of the measuring devices. “We have an hour to take the measurements of all devices. Was -32°C (temperature of Tuesday), the feeling with the wind is -60°C”, testified Ludwig.

Many schools were closed in the United Kingdom, in Ireland, in the north of Portugal, in Bosnia and in Kosovo, as in Albania, where many villages and small towns were isolated by the snow.

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