Deep freeze wreaks havoc across eastern Europe

A deep freeze bringing winds and snow to Eastern Europe claimed at least two lives in Bulgaria Monday while leaving thousands without power, disrupting services and snarling traffic throughout the region, dpa reported.Polish authorities announced that 17 people froze to death across the country over the weekend. Six of the deaths were since Sunday, Polish police said. That brings the weather-related death toll this winter to 47 in the country.Police urged the elderly and children to remain inside and called for people to be aware of the elderly and the inebriated during the cold, as they are the groups of people who most frequently fall victim to it.Hundreds of households in the Swietokrzyskie region in central Poland were suffering without electricity, as power lines broke under the weight of ice a week ago.In Germany - particularly in the north and east, where it is the coldest - authorities also warned that the homeless are in danger of freezing. According to organizations assisting the homeless, there are24,000 people living in the streets in Germany.In the Czech Republic, burst pipes in the capital, Prague, have left 40,000 people without heating in their homes amid the subzero temperature since Sunday night.In Romania and Bulgaria, blizzards, ice rain and strong wind forced the closure of schools and wreaked chaos on road and rail traffic, forcing the military and rescue services to intervene and evacuate people from snowed-under vehicles.In Bulgaria, the weather claimed the first two casualties, in Silistra and Shumen, in the north-east.Snow also fell in the Western Balkans, disrupting traffic in Serbia and Croatia. More snow was expected in the coming days, particularly starting Wednesday. However, by then, temperature were expected to rise above zero.The freezing weather has prompted memories of a cold spell two years ago that left hundreds of people dead. Most of the victims were the homeless, elderly people in remote villages or others who got stuck outside after drinking too much.