A powerful cyclone hit Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, bringing strong winds and record snowfall.
Public transportation was partially suspended in the regional capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
Buses were replaced by all-terrain vehicles, which are currently transporting people along the city’s main routes.
Snow falling from the roofs of buildings has killed two people, authorities said Thursday, declaring an emergency situation as massive snowstorm engulfed the region.
Images showed huge snow piles reaching up to the second storey of buildings and people digging their way through roads as snow blanketed cars on either side.
Though heavy snow is not uncommon in Kamchatka — a peninsula in Russia’s Far East which stretches down towards Japan — the unusual intensity of the storm has left the region’s major city partially paralysed.