BELGRADE, Serbia – Blizzards and dangerously low temperatures have left villages cut off and caused power outages as extremely cold weather continues for fourth day in most of Eastern Europe.
Dozens of villages in the remote Pestar region of Serbia were sealed off Sunday by heavy snow, prompting the evacuation of some 100 people by emergency crews. Numerous villages in northern Bulgaria were left without electricity and water. Power outages were also reported in parts of Bosnia and Serbia.
Polar temperatures of between minus 15 and minus 26 degrees Celsius (5 and minus 15 Fahrenheit) caused some rivers to freeze, while ice and snow slowed road traffic and led to flight cancellations throughout the region.
Police in Bulgaria said a passenger train was derailed Sunday after it hit a pile of snow in the central part of the country. There were no injuries.