BRATISLAVA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Northern Slovakia has announced an emergency situation due to extreme cold and windy weather, Marian Barilla of the self-governing region of Presov said Thursday.
Police closed several roads in the area including the highway connecting eastern and western Slovakia. A heavy snowstorm caused a massive traffic accident on the highway. Forty cars crashed and 24 people were injured, the Slovak Fire and Rescue Corps said.
"Today's weather cannot be evaluated other than extreme. There is still a strong breeze, snowfall, and poor visibility in the whole region," Barilla said.
Slovakia has suffered a very cold weather spell all week, with Arctic air moving in from Northern Europe. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Office issued several warnings for the next two days of strong winds, ground frost, as well as snow tongues and avalanche danger in the mountains.
