As the storm enters its second day Tuesday, thousands of villages in the east and Black Sea regions of the country have been cut off due to snow blocking roads, with some regions also without electricity as snow and gale force winds have brought down power lines.

Around the country, some 30 people have died as the result of the storm, with most of the casualties coming through car accidents or as a result of poisoning due to fumes from stoves.

A massive pileup involving 50 vehicles on the TEM freeway disrupted traffic for hours between Istanbul and the border city of Erdine late Monday, with other major highways from the western provinces of Turkey also being snowbound, despite efforts of authorities to keep them clear.

Shipping in both the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits was also disrupted by high winds and poor visibility, with ferries between Gelebolu and Lapseki and between Eceabat and Canakkale being halted, cutting the flow of vehicular traffic between Turkey’s European and Asian provinces across the Dardanelles.

The cold front is expected to continue to affect Turkey until at least late in the week.