5 Die in Storms in South Balkans

Freak winter storms paralyzed swathes of southeastern Europe on Saturday, claiming five lives and prompting Greece and Bulgaria to declare states of emergency in some areas.

The storms blanketed much of the region with snow, blocking roads and disrupting flights for a second day.

In southwestern Turkey, two men froze to death, Turkish television reported. Two others died in icy temperatures in Istanbul.

Greek police found the body of an elderly woman partly covered by snow who apparently had died from the cold in a suburb of Athens, the capital.

The storm, which hit the region Friday and continued into Saturday, forced the Greek government to declare states of emergency in Attica, the province in which Athens is located, and two neighboring provinces.

In northern Bulgaria, a state of emergency was called in three municipalities where roads were blocked and power cuts left numerous towns and villages without electricity, civil defense officials said.

From the Aegean coast in the west to the Black Sea in the north, thousands of Turkish villages were snowbound. The blizzards were expected to move east across Turkey in the coming days, and officials warned people not to leave their homes unless necessary.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis called it the worst weather in 40 years. “I would like to call on all citizens to be careful and limit their movements. This is an unusual phenomenon and beautiful to watch but also dangerous,” he said.

Athens was covered by as much as 8 inches of snow early Saturday, a rare occurrence that left streets nearly deserted.

The Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis was closed, and children built snowmen and hurled snowballs in Athens’ central square.

In the capital’s northern suburbs, where it was still snowing heavily midafternoon Saturday, roads were impassable and blackouts were frequent.

Flights from the international airport were severely disrupted, although one runway was open with planes taking off and landing.

In Istanbul, some international and domestic flights were canceled Saturday as blizzards resumed, airport officials said.

Roads were blocked and ferries across the Bosporus strait were canceled for a second day, Turkey’s NTV television said.

In Romania, river ice had cut off water to several cities in the Transylvania region. Authorities rescued more than 300 motorists stranded by snow.

Albania’s Defense Ministry said the army was using trucks and helicopters to make deliveries. Frozen pipes cut off the water supply to several villages.