Bosnia declares state of emergency, Sarajevo paralyzed by snow

PanARMENIAN.Net - Bosnian authorities have declare state of emergency in the capital Sarajevo after it was paralyzed by snow, while hundreds of people remain trapped in their homes and vehicles throughout the country, AP reports.

More than a meter (three feet) of snow is lying in the city Saturday, Feb 4, as residents are trying to clear routes to the hospital or simply connect buildings. One by one, neighborhoods are reporting water shortages and people are emptying shops in fear it could last for days.

Schools have been closed for a week and throughout the country travelers have been trapped on roads since Friday evening.

Authorities are urging people not to go out of their homes.

On Saturday, Ukraine's Emergency Ministry said 122 people have died there over the past eight days, including 78 homeless people found on city streets. Nearly 1,600 other residents have been hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite.

In Montenegro, police said that more than 100 people, including children on a school trip, were evacuated from the roads blocked by snow and taken to a shelter.

In Austria, temperatures in the western city of Salzburg hovered around 7 degrees Fahrenheit (-14 Celsius), and a technical problem at a power plant left 10,000 households without heating.

Germany recorded the coldest night of the year, with the thermometer plunging to -16 Fahrenheit (-27 Celsius) in the southern town of Oberstdorf, according to the German Weather Service.