Three years ago, as today, the authorities called on the population not to leave homes. Now the country fights a difficult disease, but in April 2017 it was the bad weather that put the Moldovans to the test, IPN reports.
Weather forecasters issued an orange code advisory for heavy snow and sleet. Chief of the Weather Forecasts Center of the State Hydrometeorological Service Gennady Rosca said the elements are due to a cold front coming from the Arctic. The cyclone brought cold weather and heavy snowfalls to almost the whole territory of the country. Such meteorological phenomena in that period of the year in Moldova were witnessed for the first time.
The heaviest snow fell in the central and southern districts of Moldova. The layer of snow there measured 5 to 57 cm, being the thickets in Chisinau. No snow fell in the northern districts of Briceni and Camenca, while in Soroca the layer of snow measuresd5 cm. In central Moldova, this measured 42-57 cm, while in the southern districts 23-40 cm.
The Civil Protection and Emergencies Service announced that over 400 people, 37 of whom children, were taken out of snowdrifts on the night of April 21. Not only rescuers, but also firemen and National Army soldiers were involved in snow removal works. Given the created conditions, when sections of national and local roads were blocked, rescuers recommended the population not to leave homes, if only in emergencies. Drivers were urged to avoid travelling long distances as they could get stuck in snowdrifts.
At 9am on April 21, 560 settlements were partially or fully disconnected from the power supply following numerous cable ruptures and damaging of insulators as well as installation accidents.
The State Road Administration reactivated the nonstop operational service. On the night of April 21, about 90 special vehicles were involved in cleanup and patrolling works. The Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure said all the bus and minibus routes to the central and southern Moldova were cancelled. A number of flights at the Chisinau International Airport took off with delay, while others were cancelled owing to the elements.
The National Army assigned soldiers and special units of equipment to help the population and deal with the consequences of the heavy snowfalls. Service members of the Brigade “Dacia” worked in Cahul, while those of the Artillery Division in Ungheni. Teams formed of over 300 members of the Brigade “Stefan cel Mare”, Anti-Air Rockets Regiment, Guard Battalion, Peacekeeping Battalion No. 22, Special Destination Battalion and Bomb Squad Battalion were prepared to take action in Chisinau municipality.
A state of emergency was declared in Chisinau. Representatives of municipal subdivisions reported hundreds of cases of tree falling on the streets of Chisinau, in yards of apartment buildings, over cars and even over balconies and annexes. Three persons were hospitalized after tree branches fell on them. The fallen trees and branches blocked traffic on a number of streets and damaged power lines. About 100 poles were downed. Rascani district was the worst hit. The then mayor of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said that no such situations have been witnessed during the last 120 years of meteorological measurements.
No trolleybuses ran on routes in Chisinau owing to the snowy roads. Several buses set out on routes, but got stuck soon given that the roads were impassable. Several trolleybuses set off, but also became blocked and remained on routes in the city. Parts of the trolleybus lines were broken. The passersby are urged not to touch the broken electrical cables. The private transport moved with difficulty.
In Chisinau alone, over 3,000 trees were downed on streets and in yards of apartment buildings. Also, more than 1,000 trees collapsed on the territory of education institutions. The municipal services hadn’t yet assessed the situation in parks and other green areas of the city at that time.
Thirteen ambulances got stuck in the snow on national roads, in settlements or on the territory of emergency medical assistance substations. In Ciobalaccia village of Cantemir district, an ambulance could not transport a patient with myocardial infarction to the hospital as the road was impassable and sought help from the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service, which remedied the situation. The 903 service was mainly called by persons with hypertension, chest pain and respiratory infections. An ambulance was called to give first aid to an 83-year-old woman found in the snow. The doctors stated her death at the scene.
Doctors cleaned up themselves the access ways to the ambulance substations located in the districts of Botanica, Buiucani and Ciocana of Chisinau, which became blocked following the heavy snowfalls. Contacted by IPN for a comment, Veaceslav Plamadeala, of the National Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Assistance Center, said the ambulances reached the addresses to which they were called out with difficulty owing to the hardly passable roads.
The then Prime Minister Pavel Filip called on the population to refrain from travelling on the occasion of the Sunday of the Dead given that the bad weather was expected to persist.
