Prolonged snowfall buries parts of Turkey under four metres of snow
The province of Mus, located in eastern Turkey, has been battered by an extended period of heavy snowfall -- accumulating to a depth of more than four metres in spots, according to local media.
Imagine having to dig out from under more than four metres (400 cm) of snowfall. Well, that's exactly what many villages in Turkey are currently doing.
The province of Muş, located in eastern Turkey, has been battered by persistent heavy snowfall, accumulating to a depth of more than four metres in spots, according to local media reports.
As a result, some village roads in high elevations were periodically closed to traffic, amid bitterly cold temperatures.
(Anadolu Agency | Reuters)
Adem Toprak is a worker who has been involved in road opening works. He told Reuters he had a hard time believing the scale of the snow depth at first, and how the accumulation could be in metres.
"We live in the city centre. They said that the snow depth was around four meters here, but we didn't believe that. We came and saw that the snow depth here exceeded four metres," he said.
Despite reopening every time, the roads were shut down once more, though for a short time, because of the heavy snowfall, according to local officials. Seyhmus Yentur, secretary-general of Mus Special Provincial Administration, stated roads had to be reinstated twice, Reuters reported.
"Since the first day of snowfall, we had to reopen the roads of approximately 185 villages in our city twice. Our fight against snow continues uninterruptedly for 24 hours with 59 construction machineries and 90 personnel," he said.
In eastern Turkey, particularly in the high-elevation sections of the region, heavy snow and frigid temperatures are common during the winter months.
With files from Reuters.
Thumbnail courtesy of Anadolu Agency | Reuters.