KIEV, March 24 – A state of emergency was declared in parts of Ukraine over the weekend after the country was hit with the heaviest snowfall in more than 100 years, effectively paralyzing its transportation infrastructure.

President Viktor Yanukovych signed a decree on Saturday that outlines emergency measures in regions most affected by the calamity, calling the snowfall “unprecedented.”

The decree instructs local authorities throughout the country to send rescue teams via intercity highways to help automobiles blocked on the road, and allows deployment of army units and heavy machinery in the process.

Kiev, Ukraine’s capital and the largest city, was especially badly hit by the snowstorm, paralyzing public transportation and grounding the city to a standstill.

The authorities declared the state of emergency in the city, while armored personnel vehicles were seen on its roads through the weekend helping to clear the roads and pull stuck buses and cars out of snow.

“All available machinery was deployed, in addition to 15 armored personnel vehicles provided by the Defense Ministry,” Oleksandr Mazurchak, the first deputy head of the Kiev administration, said. “We are doing everything possible to stabilize the situation.”

But despite the major effort, many of the Kiev city streets remained buried under the snow with the authorities clearly struggling with the task.

To help alleviate the traffic problem on Monday, the city authorities declared a day off for Kiev government officials and asked private companies to give a day off to their employees as well.

The only public transpiration option still available in Kiev was subway, which operates underground on most of its routes. The city authorities ordered increased number of trains to try to compensate for the rest of transportation options that had effectively ground to s standstill.

“At a time when on-land public transportation is paralyzed due to the heavy snowstorm, the subway remains the only reliable option for transportation in the city,” Mazurchak said. “That’s why we decided to increased the number of trains.”

The snowfall led to the fact that most of city grocery stores and supermarkets on Saturday ran out of key food staples, such as bread, with supply companies failing to deliver the products.

Oleksandr Popov, the head of the Kiev administration, held number of emergency meeting throughout the weekend, and said that by Sunday afternoon the problem was alleviated.

“Today the supplies of food, including bread, have resumed,” Popov said. “The only problem remains with small grocery stores whose driveways have not been cleared off snow yet. But this problem will be solved within the next day.”

Meanwhile, Kiev’s International Airport, Boryspil, which shut down its operation on Saturday, has been gradually recovering and has even resumed some flights on Sunday afternoon.

Mykola Kulbida, the head of the Ukrainian Weather Center, said the at least half a meter of snow has fallen on Kiev region over the past two days, with more expected to fall within days.

He said the snowfall essentially broke the record as the heaviest snowfall in more than 100 years and added it will take time for it to melt down, which will remain to plague the city’s infrastructure.

“We expect warming to begin from March 30,” Kulbida said. “The temperature will start rising more or less faster in the first five days of April. This will be a gradual process.” (tl/ez)