Heavy snow affects roads, schools and power supply

Some 50 main roads in mountain areas of northern Catalonia were still seriously affected by heavy snow on Monday evening. After a weekend of snow, nine main roads remained cut off in areas close to the Pyrenees, according to the Catalan Traffic Service. Meanwhile, driving with snow chains was mandatory on 44 roads, including stretches of the C-16 and N-260 main roads, on which heavy vehicles were also banned from circulating.

The Catalan police advised extreme caution when driving in the areas affected by the snow, as well as on roads in those areas of the country hit by heavy rain and flooding. According to Catalonia’s weather service, at 5pm on Monday the snow had reached 85 centimeters in Núria, 75cm in Cadí Nord, 70cm in Das andl 51cm in Puigcerdà. Some parts, such as Cerdanya, Alt Urgell and Ripollès, registered the heaviest snowfall seen in the past 15 years.

Over 2,000 children off school

During the day, disruption was caused to rail and school transport services. In fact, more than 2,000 children were unable to attend school on Monday, while in other areas, such as Seu d'Urgell, schools closed early to ensure children did not become trapped by the snow. Earlier in the day, police and firefighters rescued a group of 60 students, who had been trapped on the road from Toses to La Molina, in northern Catalonia.

Meanwhile, 43 children and 13 monitors on a school holiday break were trapped on Monday evening in Saldes (Berguedà), where they were forced to spend another night. On Twitter, the Catalan police said the group had “power, warmth and food” and were accompanied by a Red Cross team. The group’s bus became trapped on the B-400 main road when trying to reach Barcelona on Sunday and they were forced to turn back.

Some 5,000 without power

The bad weather also affected the power supply and by Monday evening there were 5,000 in northern Catalonia without electricity. According to the Endesa power company, most of the households are in towns in the Alt Berguedà, Cerdanya and Alt Urgell areas. At the same time, the Barcelona Airport authorities reported flight delays of up to half an hour, due to extra security measures.