Tens of thousands of homes left without power as heavy snow and winds grip the Balkans

Tens of thousands of homes in Bosnia and Herzegovina lost access to electricity on Tuesday after heavy snow and winds crashed into the Balkans region.

Roads were blocked and traffic faced major disruption as the access to some towns and villages was entirely blocked.

Authorities in Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia banned the movement of heavy vehicles and imposed limited traffic levels on all affected roads.

The storms affected all of Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

Throughout the Balkans, authorities issued travel warnings as snow drifts forced the closure of major routes. Officials also advised citizens of staying home and avoiding travel where possible.

Local media say that more than 150,000 homes in Bosnia lost power as the storms damaged power lines which resulted in their failure. The failure has reportedly also caused many of those homes to lose access to heating and water.

Northwestern and western Bosnia were hit hardest by the storm. Residents there were left without even clean drinking water, and schools across the regions were shut for a second consecutive day.

Regional television network N1 said dozens of vehicles were stuck in the snow for 10-hours in western Bosnia before they were able to continue their travels.

The northwestern Bosnian town of Drvar was also completely cut off from the outside world according to its local officials. Snow there piled on the roads and highways making the use of cars and railways impossible. Authorities in Drvar declared an emergency as they continue to struggle to clear the snow.  

And in Slovenia, the search for an injured Hungarian hiker in the Alps, north of the capital Ljubljana, was suspended due to strong winds.

Rescuers were however able to reach his female companion on Monday and transferred her to a hospital for medical evaluation and treatment.