Heavy snow brings Greece to standstill

    A raging snow storm that blanketed most of Greece over the weekend also continued into the early morning hours on Monday, plunging the country into sub-zero temperatures. Public transport buses were at a standstill on Monday in the wider Athens area, while ships remained in ports, public services remained closed, and schools and courthouses in the more severely-stricken prefectures were also closed. Scores of villages, mainly on the island of Crete, and in the prefectures of Evia, Argolida, Arcadia, Lakonia, Viotia, and the Cyclades islands were snowed in.

    Attica, Evia, the Cyclades islands and Crete were the most hard hit by the continuing snow storm on Monday, while snow chains were required throughout most of the National Highway network and in most parts of Attica prefecture. Problems were also caused by a blanket of ice that has formed from partially-melted snow beneath the new snowfall.

    In Attica, the "blue" (urban) buses, trolley buses and the tram lines were not operating.

    The Athens Metro was running normally up to the Doukissis Plakentias terminal, and from there by suburban railway (Proastiakos) to Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport with some difficulties, while the ISAP railway announced early in the morning that was running from the Piraeus terminal only up to the Attikis Square station.

    Although the airport reopened at 3:00 a.m., and snow plows were working continuously to keep runways open, scores of flights were cancelled due to low visibility and hazardous conditions at other domestic destination airports. According to the AIA, 461 flights (incoming and outgoing) are scheduled for Monday, but airlines had already cancelled 64 flights as of 10:00 a.m., and passengers are advised to contact their airline.

    The state machine kicked into action immediately on Saturday at the outset of the storm, working round-the-clock to keep highways and central streets snow-free, and remained on alert on Monday.

    According to the Civil Protection General Secretariat, assistance for citizens was required in only a few isolated instances, while citizens were requested to refrain from commuting if not necessary.

    Meanwhile, more than 100 villages were snowed-in on the island of Crete -- 54 in Chania prefecture, 26 in Iraklion prefecture, 19 in Lasithi prefecture, and 5 in Rethymno prefecture -- as wel as 25 villages in Evia, 15 in Argolida, 3 in Arcadia, 9 in Lakonia, 2 in Viotia, and 4 in the Cyclades prefecture.

    Temperatures in Athens dropped to -6C before dawn, while the coldest temperatures were recorded in Kozani, Grevena, Kastoria and Florina, where they plunged to -12C.

   

    Caption: Children enjoying the snow in the National Gardens, off Syntagma Square in downtown Athens. (ANA-MPA/M. Marogianni)

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