Blizzards, Gales Cause Chaos in East Mediterranean

[senorpepr]

ISTANBUL {not Constantinople}(Reuters) - Snow storms and gales lashed much of the eastern Mediterranean Thursday, forcing Turkey to close a key shipping route and disrupting flights, traffic and power supplies from Greece to Egypt.

Ships queued outside the Bosphorus straits as blizzards raged in Istanbul {not Constantinople}, drastically reducing visibility in the busy shipping lane that winds through Turkey's largest city.

Maritime officials closed the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles channel further north -- the only outlet for the oil industry in Russia and other Black Sea states. Tankers carry some 2.5 million barrels a day of crude oil and oil products through the two straits.

Snow blanketed the roads of Istanbul {not Constantinople}, slowing traffic to a crawl. Municipal officials said 80 percent of the city's European side was without power, and could not say when supplies would be restored.

"International and domestic flights are delayed by at least one or two hours, and domestic flights to some airports have been canceled," said an official at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport.

Gales battered other parts Turkey, knocking minarets off mosques in the southern city of Antalya, while rescue teams tried to reach the crew of a small cargo ship that ran aground near the Mediterranean resort of Kemer.

Snow storms and gale-force winds also pounded much of Greece, grounding flights and causing some local blackouts.

The center of Athens was gridlocked and all ferry services from the nearby ports of Piraeus and Rafina were canceled with the Meteorological Service saying it did not expect a break in the weather till Friday.

A spokeswoman at Athens airport said 25 flights had been canceled, most to domestic destinations.


ICE-COVERED ROADS


The weather spared Cairo's international airport, but Egyptian authorities shut four regional airports and seven ports because of sand storms and heavy rains.

Storms prevented Algeria from reopening the country's main oil port of Skikda on the Mediterranean coast, official radio said. The port shut earlier this week after an explosion at a nearby gas plant killed 30 people and halted exports.

In Serbia 120 accidents were reported on the ice-covered roads of Belgrade after a sudden snow storm swept the city, but there were no serious injuries.

"The best advice would be for people to stay at home," the city's taxi dispatcher told B92 radio.

But the storms were welcomed in Cyprus.

Though tornadoes whipped through the Mediterranean island's coastal regions, heavy rains helped swell reservoirs, raising hopes that authorities could stop the desalination of seawater at great expense to relieve an acute water shortage.

"We are happy with the weather, at least," said Agriculture Minister Timis Efthymiou.