Romania closed its Black Sea ports including the main port of Constanta and shut dozens of roads due to strong winds and big snowfalls since Saturday night, authorities said on Sunday.

Blizzards dumped up to half a metre of snow in 12 hours, disrupting trains and forcing authorities to shut down all schools in Bucharest and nearby counties.

There were no reports of victims but emergency services said they were prepared to intervene, with about 6,000 policemen, gendarmes and firefighters currently involved in various missions across the country, the interior ministry said.

Snowfalls are not expected to ease until Monday and forecasters predict temperatures will fall to below minus 18 degrees Celsius next week.

Dozens of villages in southern Romania were left without electricity after trees and strong winds brought down power lines. – Reuters