Hundreds in Croatia spend night in cars, gas stations after snowstorm brings traffic to a halt

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Hundreds of people in Croatia have spent the night in their cars or at gas stations and reception centers after a snowstorm over the weekend caused traffic to collapse and left parts of the country cut off.

The sudden change of weather after a period of warm and balmy days also has snarled traffic in neighboring Serbia and Bosnia, leaving areas in western Serbia without power and cutting railway traffic to neighboring Montenegro.

Croatian authorities said on Monday that the roads leading to and from the Adriatic Sea coastline remain closed because of snow and strong winds. Media reported that cars and buses were parked along the main Croatian highway as they wait to move on.

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About 300 people have stayed in the reception centers that have been set up because of the situation, said Natalia Turbic, local emergency official in Gracac in central Croatia. Others sought places in private accommodation in the area, she said.

State television HRT reported that hundreds of people that couldn’t reach the reception centers stayed in buses and cars or looked for gas station cafes nearby which opened their doors for stranded motorists and passengers.

People were lying on the floor or sleeping on chairs, HRT said. A group of soccer fans who were traveling from the capital Zagreb to the coastal town of Split were among those stuck on the way.

A woman with a dog walks through a snow-covered street in Belgrade, Serbia, on Feb. 26, 2023, after the country and the rest of the region were hit by a sudden weather change that brought rain and snow. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

“There is no use in getting irritated,” Melita Ancic, a bus passenger, told HRT. “These are extraordinary circumstances. We just need to be patient.”

Marijan Grubisic was traveling from Germany to Bosnia when he got stranded. He told HRT that “we didn’t expect something like this.”

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“It’s been tough, lots of snow, very hard, very cold,” he said.

While the situation was most dramatic in Croatia, problems were also reported in western Serbia and elevated regions of Bosnia.

Serbia’s state railway company said that trains to Montenegro weren’t running, mostly because of fallen trees and problems in power supplies in the region near the border between the two countries.

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The towns of Prijepolje and Bajina Basta were without electricity overnight Sunday to Monday, the Tanjug news agency reported.

Bosnian authorities said Monday that heavy snow and wind have slowed down traffic throughout the country, especially over the mountains. Landslides and fallen trees are causing further problems, traffic authorities said, urging caution.