LONDON, Jan 9, (AFP) -Europe faced a weekend of weather chaos as Germany braced for a blizzard and authorities warned people to stock up on food and drinking water while Britain and France struggled to cope with heavy snow.
Germans were urged to buy enough food and medicines to last for up to four days with 20 centimetres (eight inches) of snowfall forecast to fall overnight Friday.
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| People help push a car up a hill on a snow covered residential road in Hartley Wintney, in Hampshire, 40 miles west of London, on January 8. AFP |
The government said all non-essential travel should be avoided. By Friday evening, the island of Ruegen off the northeast coast was covered in 30 centimetres of snow while the capital Berlin was carpeted with snow and ice.
"What is being forecast for the weekend could lead to chaotic traffic conditions and potentially leave large parts of Germany completely paralysed,"the Autoclub Europa warned.
Britain, suffering its worst winter for three decades, was forced to curb industrial gas usage to save dwindling supplies.
The country prepared for further freezing conditions as forecasters warned that temperatures would drop below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus four degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.
Two men died after falling into a frozen lake in Leicester, central England.
Hundreds of flights were scrapped leaving more passengers stranded and the beleaguered Eurostar link between Britain, France and Belgium axed half its services Friday and said the disruption would continue into the weekend.
Twenty-seven major companies in Britain were ordered to halt using gas Friday in order to maintain overall supplies amid unprecedented levels of demand.
Ninety-seven major companies had their gas turned off Thursday, in the first such move since 2003, although the government said there was no immediate danger for households of supplies running out. |
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