Chaos in Estonia as Violent Snowstorm Rages, Leaves One Dead

[esaima]

A severe snowstorm is raging through Estonia, leaving many roads impassable, thousands without electricity and taking one life.

By 09:00 on December 10, the furious storm named Monika had caused power outages in over 10,000 households and more than 50 traffic accidents as extreme winds and snowfall continued.

The Road Administration is closing roads, as many have become impassable, and the Rescue Board is evacuating people whose vehicles have become stuck in snow.

A man died on the Tallinn-Narva motorway around 21:35 on December 9, as he was hit by a passing vehicle when exiting his Land Rover, which was stuck in the snow.

Rescue Board press representative Reimo Raja speaking on ETV warned that even a walk outside can be dangerous, not to speak of driving.

"Here and there, trees have fallen on electricity lines, but since there is so much snow, there have been situations where people, like a mother with two small children, were trapped by the snow," said Raja.

"There was one incidence in which a person with heart disease was ensnared by the snow in his car. Rescuers helped him out," said the press representative.

This news was brought to you by an ERR News editor whose international flight from the snow-ridden Tallinn Airport was delayed for the third time.
http://news.err.ee/

[esaima]

Someone has made even a youtube video with pics about it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpFZkCLl5MU

[esaima]

Emergency medical workers have been struggling to cope with the heavy snows that hit the capital over the holiday weekend, with some patients forced to wait as long as 40 minutes for emergency care.

In a December 27 interview on ERR radio, chief physician of the Tallinn ambulance services Raul Adlas said that help was arriving faster than 40 minutes in most cases, but that there had been instances when rescuers had to wade long distances through knee-deep snow.

"The record was nearly one kilometer [of walking] through the snow to reach a patient," he said.

However Adlas said that for the crews, the psychological effects are more demanding than any physical hardship they face. "It's somewhat morally oppressive when you're rushing to a patient who needs urgent help and you can't get there, and when you finally arrive on the scene, there's nobody to help anymore," he said.

The three-day holiday period has been a busy one for the Tallinn ambulance services, with 582 calls for urgent care answered, according to Adlas. He said that staff are being equipped with snow shovels and are also receiving help from the military, uudised.err.ee reported.

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