Traffic accidents are being reported all over Macedonia, as snow has made roads impassable. Trucks are banned from commuting on mountain passes between Ohrid and Kicevo, Kicevo – Gostivar, Resen and Ohrid, Bitola and Resen and Debar – Struga, to prevent blocking the roads entirely.

In the capital Skopje, local authorities completely failed at the task of keeping the roads open, as the dry, stubborn snow continued to fall all day long on Saturday and overnight into Sunday. Especially streets that lead to the higher parts of the city, such as Vodno, are dangerous to drive through. This includes the Vodnjanska boulevard that leads to the major Mother Teresa hospital complex.

Youth activists from the VMRO-DPMNE party gathered in front of the St. Clement hospital in downtown Skopje to clean the sidewalk, in an attempt to keep this hospital open to the public.

The Macedonian Roads had purchased 60,000 tons of salt for 7 million EUR that are supposed to be used to defrost the roads. It’s the biggest procurement in recent years, when much smaller quantities were purchased. Little of it was used so far, given the mild winter, but still the authorities failed to react over this weekend, which is the first time in the year they were really needed.