By Roman Zakaluzny
Post Staff Writer
Southern Ukraine was slammed over the past week with the worst winter storm it has seen in 40 years.
The same storm system was blamed for at least 10 deaths in other parts of the continent and abroad, from the Czech Republic to parts of the Middle East.
One forecaster described the massive storm as similar to a small hurricane in its intensity.
In Ukraine, thousands of towns and villages � mainly in the southern oblasts of Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad, though also elsewhere � were without electricity for days after gale-force winds knocked down power lines.
Meanwhile, nighttime temperatures plunged to well below zero in many regions.
The bulk of the snow fell from Jan. 22 to Jan. 25, keeping Ukrainian Ministry of Emergencies personnel busy with bread deliveries to isolated villages and tending to more than 200 vehicle accidents, caused by ice-covered roads and limited visibility due to fog.
Major highways, including the Odessa to Kyiv, Odessa to Chisinau and Odessa to Melitopol routes, were closed due to snowdrifts for extended periods during the storm�s bruising climax.
In some countries, temperatures dropped as well. A low of -32 was recorded in the Czech Republic. At least five people, including two children on their way home from school, froze to death in Turkey as a result of the weather. The storm also touched off dust storms from Libya to the Middle East, and drove cargo ships into rocky shorelines in the Bosphorus.
The storm was the most violent to hit Ukraine�s south since the 1960s, the Ukrainian weather center reported. The weather has since largely stabilized, a representative from the center told the Post, though more snow is expected.