Blizzards and heavy snow hit the centre, south and east of the country, cutting power to more than 166,00 homes across 10 regions, said officials.

"It's a severe weather phenomenon," Florinela Georgescu, director of forecasting at Romania's meteorological agency, told the Digi24 channel. "It's probably the most violent this winter."

As of 0900 GMT, no planes had taken off from Bucharest's Otopeni airport, where 30 centimetres (12 inches) of snow covered the streets. Five flights had already been cancelled and another five had been redirected to other airports.

At Henri-Coanda international airport, snow had forced the closure of two landing strips, the interior ministry reported.

Public transport in Bucharest was seriously disrupted by the snow and trains were arriving at the central station more than six hours later, AFP journalists noted.

The snow also forced the closure of motorways and main roads in several parts of the country, the country's traffic police said.

In Bucharest alone, the emergency services had to clear 241 trees and 18 posts carrying power lines, brought down by the weight of the snow, and many vehicles, snowed in, had to be abandoned, said the interior ministry.