Freezing cold spreads to much of Europe
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-24 09:15

The bitter cold seizing Russia retained its icy grip Monday and severe freezing temperatures spread westward into much of Europe. More than 50 people have been reported killed by the cold wave in Russia, and scores of victims were recorded elsewhere in Europe over the weekend.

Amid growing demands on heating and electrical systems, many Russian communities suffered breakdowns. The national electricity grid ordered reduced industrial consumption in Moscow to ensure adequate power for homes and hospitals, as temperatures in the capital hovered around 4 degrees below zero.

A woman is engulfed by steam from an underground ventilation system while walking in a Bucharest, Romania, street on a very cold morning Monday Jan. 23, 2006.[AP]

The former Soviet republic of Georgia was among the most heavily affected areas of Europe, suffering not only temperatures as low as 22 below, but also struggling with inadequate gas supplies after explosions blamed on sabotage cut off shipments of Russian gas early Sunday. Georgia scrambled for alternative supplies from neighboring Azerbaijan, which began reaching the country late Sunday, but service remained spotty Monday.

Moscow's health directorate said 27 people had frozen to death in the capital since the cold wave hit last week. The Health Ministry could not be reached for a nationwide tally of cold deaths, but figures compiled from news reports show at least 53 people dying from the cold.

In neighboring Ukraine, 24 people died of the cold on Sunday alone, the country's Health Ministry said. Elsewhere in Europe, seven people were reported killed by the cold in Estonia, where temperatures plunged to minus 22; Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic each reported five dead , and three deaths were recorded in Moldova.

Nine Turkish Foreign Ministry employees died when the vehicle carrying them collided with a city bus in Ankara. Ten who survived the crash were being treated at hospitals in Ankara, the Foreign Ministry said.

At least 15 people were killed across Turkey and more than 150 injured Monday, the Anatolia news agency reported, as much of the country was pounded by bad winter. One person in Elazig in the country's east froze to death in a garden, the agency said.

Nearly 12,000 people were left without heat Monday in Podolsk, a town outside of Moscow, after a major hot-water pipe ruptured, a federal emergency official said. Most Russian towns and cities are heated through municipal heating systems using hot water.

In the Far Eastern Chita region, some residences have been without heat for five days. Heating interruptions also occurred in the Magadan area, where temperatures have hit minus-46, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.

This winter is the coldest in Moscow since 1978-79, when temperatures reached minus 36.4.

The cold has severely strained Russia's crumbling infrastructure. Electricity use has surged to record levels as towns and cities struggle to keep indoor temperatures up, and Russians turn to supplemental heating sources including electric radiators.

The cutoff of gas to Georgia sparked an intense diplomatic row, with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili alleging that the cutoff was aimed at undermining the country's stability. The contention, echoed by Parliament Speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, underlined the long-brewing tensions between Georgia and its one-time imperial master. The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the allegations as "hysteria."

Georgia simultaneously was coping with reduced electrical supplies from Russia, after a power line pylon was blown up Sunday.

In Poland, Economics Minister Piotr Wozniak said Monday that supplies of Russian gas had fallen amid the cold wave. He said the main Polish gas supplier, PGNiG, was reacting by cutting its output to several industrial clients, including chemical plants, but said that households for the time being would not feel the drop.

Romania also reported a reduction in gas from Russia and four large chemical companies were shut down to keep enough gas available for homes and businesses. Italy also was receiving less Russian gas, but was making up for the shortfall with its own reserves, Italy's oil and gas company Eni SpA said.

Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom has said it was delivering enough to fulfill European contracts and its deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev on Monday claimed Ukraine was taking more than its share from a pipeline that carries Russian gas to Europe across Ukraine.

Medvedev's comments on state television channel Rossiya echoed Russian allegations this month that Ukraine was siphoning off Europe-bound gas after Gazprom temporarily halted sales to Ukraine in a price dispute.

The national Russian electricity company, meanwhile, ordered restricted industrial consumption from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., the RIA-Novosti news agency reported.