17:00, 28 January 2012

Dozens of settlements in Azerbaijan remain without electricity as a result of snowfall

From January 27 on, due to heavy snowfalls in the northwest of the country, 18 villages and one township in the Balakan District are suffering from power outage.

The snow in Balakan is 30-40 cm thick, and in the foothill villages – up to 60 cm. In Sheki the snow cover thickness reached 63 cm.

In the Apsheron Peninsula the snowfall is accompanied by strong wind – up to 11 m/s. Roads are covered with snow, especially in the higher part of the city – Yasamal and Gyuneshli. In places, the snow depth reaches 30-40 cm, the Contact Online News writes.

Because of the strong wind, the Closed Joint-Stock Company (CJSC) "Azerbaijani Railways" has limited the speed of trains running to the west of the republic, the IA Trend reports with reference to Nadir Azmamedov, the head of the press-service of the CJSC.

The Geidar Aliev International Airport is operating normally: receives and sends flights. However, departures are delayed for the need of technical treatment of aircrafts before take-off, the "News of Azerbaijan" reports.