Four national routes remain blocked due to hazard weather in Moldova

Chisinau, 21 April /MOLDPRES/ – Four national routes remain blocked due to heavy snow and heavy snowfall in the recent 24 hours. The announcement was made today by the head of the General Police Inspectorate, Alexandru Pinzari, during the meeting of the Commission for Exceptional Situations.

According to the cited source, there are segments of routes from Cantemir, Basarabeasca, Nisporeni, Cahul and about 150 local roads. "Until now, 29 portions of national routes have been unlocked. In Chisinau municipality, around 200 vehicles have been damaged today due to the fall of the trees, and over 35 pillars have been destroyed. There is a danger of flooding around the Gratiesti lake, on Albisoara street and on several streets in the capital," said Pinzari.

The Economy Minister Octavian Calmic said that about 550 localities in nearly 20 districts in the centre and south of Moldova remained disconnected from electricity. "At present, more works are being carried out to repair the power lines for energy reconnection of the affected localities. More than 140 intervention teams operate in the centre and south of the country, and another 18 in the north of the country. This night and tomorrow, most of the localities are to be reconnected to electricity," said Calmic.   

The head of the Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service, Mihail Harabagiu, said that the situation in Moldova was gradually normalizing. "The Internal Affairs Ministry has the most involved forces. The General Police Inspectorate included more than 1,500 employees and 98 technical units are involved. The Defence Ministry intervened with over 320 servicemen and 24 technical units. More than 310 employees and 86 technical units in the Ministry of Transports and Road Infrastructure work in the territory, and more than 1,100 employees work in Chisinau. Today, several minibuses, buses and cars have been towed along the country's roads. Similarly, in the first half of the day, we focused on unblocking access to medical institutions. Thus, all medical institutions in Chisinau are accessible," noted Harabagiu.

Deputy Health Minister Liliana Iasan also said that "emergency service 903 has been requested today by over 1,300 people."

At his part, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Iurie Usurelu, specified that the experts should carry out an accurate assessment of the losses. "A hotline was set up to provide the necessary assistance to agricultural producers, as well as to identify the most affected districts of the country," said Usurelu.

The Environment Minister Valeriu Munteanu noted that several portions of the Bic river have been unlocked today. "We are asking to intervene in the region of the rivers so there are ways to evacuate the waters," mentioned Munteanu.

The representatives of the Customs Service specified that the activity of Cahul-Oancea, Ceadir-Lunga 1, Ceadir-Lunga 2 and Cismichioi customs stations was still closed. The cross-border traffic is partly limited to Leuseni and Sculeni Customs. The activity of the crossing points: Soroca-Tekinovka, Saiti-Lesnoe, Mirnoe-Tabaki, Vulcanesti-Vinogradovca, Tudora-Starokazacie, Giurgiulesti-Reni is also stopped.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said that the established Crisis Cell would work 24 hours a day. "Reconnecting to electricity remains one of the biggest problems at this time. The competent institutions are to carry out the remedial work. It is necessary to reinvent the power generators held by the force organs in order to reach them in the localities so that citizens can use them. Priority is also to remove trees from electric wires, roads and lakes. Similarly, police must be in the territory and prevent drivers who want to drive on blocked road segments. We urge citizens to refrain from traveling," said Filip.

The State Hydrometeorological Service issued, for 18-24 April, the yellow frost code throughout Moldova. The meteorologists forecast for tomorrow is with temperatures of up to +8...+11 degrees Celsius, and until -1…-4 degrees Celsius at night.

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor L. Alcaza)