January 9, Pozirk. Belarus’ national airline Biełavia has canceled flights bound to and from Homiel, citing snowy weather.
Flight B2 988 from Moscow landed in Minsk instead of Homiel. The airline canceled Flights B2 989 Homiel – Saint Petersburg, B2 990 Saint Petersburg – Homiel and B2 991 Homiel – Moscow.
Passengers were offered to fly from Minsk.
The country’s housing ministry deployed nearly 10,000 workers and 2,331 vehicles today to remove snow across Belarus.
Belarus’ defense ministry said it had deployed more than 1,000 troops and more than 20 military and special vehicles.
The emergency management ministry deployed 1,700 personnel across the country. The interior ministry said it deployed police officers and troops as well, but did not specify any numbers.
Snow depth widened by 22 centimeters on average within 24 hours from 8 a.m. on January 8 to 8 a.m. on January 9. The Mahiloŭ region reported the highest water equivalent of snow—31 liters per square meter, which makes up 79 percent of the average monthly precipitation.
In Minsk, snow depth widened from 19 to 32 cm.
Severe snowstorms disrupted the power supply in 251 settlements overnight, leaving 997 transformer substations and 30 farms without electricity.
Power outages were primarily reported in the Viciebsk, Minsk and Homiel regions as blizzards, strong winds and fallen trees damaged power lines, officials said.
The weather services issued a red alert for eastern Belarus for today. Biełhidramiet is expecting less snow and lower temperatures in the coming days.
