Snowstorm Chaos Leaves Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Dark

A relentless snowstorm has plunged parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina into chaos, leaving over 170,000 people without power. As the storm tightened its icy grip on Tuesday, efforts to restore electricity faced ongoing setbacks.

Elektroprivreda BiH reported a worsening situation, with 127,000 metering points now powerless. Meanwhile, Elektrokrajina, serving the Serb entity of Republika Srpska, revealed that around 50,000 users were similarly affected. Both companies have deployed all available field teams, working tirelessly since dawn to address the outages.

In a dramatic turn, a state of emergency was declared in the western municipality of Drvar, where severe weather has sealed off all entry and exit routes, isolating its 17,000 residents. “The situation is extremely difficult,” said Jasna Pecanac, president of the Drvar Municipal Council. “The snow keeps falling. People are stranded.”

Snowdrifts in the region have reached heights of up to two meters, with blizzard conditions severely hampering clearing operations. Pecanac issued an urgent plea for more snow-clearing resources, noting that all available machinery is already deployed.

The western region, under a red weather alert, bears the brunt of the storm. The Serbian Hydrometeorological Institute has warned of continued heavy snowfall, exacerbating the crisis in the hilly and mountainous areas. As the storm rages on, Bosnia and Herzegovina grapples with a weather-induced ordeal of unprecedented scale.