by Donald Wood
Last updated: 5:00 PM ET, Mon January 9, 2017
A recent string of blizzards and dangerously low temperatures in Europe over the weekend has resulted in multiple deaths, left regions without power or water and disrupted travel.
According to The Canadian Press, the cold weather and brutal storms have forced Pope Francis to call on people to look out for the homeless and migrants forced to take shelter in makeshift camps. Italy was hit hard by cold, which resulted in the deaths of at least eight people. As a result, Pope Francis "asked God to warm our hearts so we'll help the homeless."
In Poland, two men died of cold Sunday, which brings the total number of dead from the weather to 55 since the beginning of November. In the mountains of southern Poland, temperatures dropped to -22 degrees Fahrenheit.
Officials in Serbia have closed the country's stretch of the Danube River due to ice buildup and high winds. In addition, there were several hundred men living inside an abandoned customs warehouse in Belgrade, and aid workers supplied them with heaters, blankets, clothes and food.
One of the major problems facing authorities across Europe is the migrants attempting to make their way to the western portion of the continent during the winter season, leaving them open to the extreme cold and hypothermia.
Areas of southern Serbia were completely sealed off by the massive snow storms, forcing officials to order emergency evacuations of the regions. Areas of northern Bulgaria were also suffering the same fate.
In addition to the closures for the Adriatic Sea and the rivers and bodies of water it feeds, a passenger train was derailed Sunday after it hit a pile of snow in central Bulgaria. Also in Romania, major roads remained closed due to blizzard conditions.
Another city feeling the cold was Istanbul, Turkey, which was dealing with so much snow that Turkish Airlines grounded hundreds of flights at the city's two major airports. The cold and snow also spread to France and Germany, where several deaths were attributed to accidents on snowy or icy roads.
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