Heavy snowfall in eastern Turkey blocks roads to thousands of villages

Heavy snowfall in eastern Turkey has forced the closure of hundreds of village roads, isolating rural communities, as crews work to clear snow from key routes and town centres.

Reuters

2 January 2026 at 14:47:52

Heavy snowfall blankets eastern Turkey, blocking roads and isolating thousands of villages, January 2, 2026.

Stringer/Reuters

Roads to hundreds of villages and rural areas were closed in provinces across Turkey's east on Friday (January 2) due to heavy snowfall in the region in recent days.

State-owned Anadolu news agency said 625 village roads were closed in Van province, 368 in Mus, 298 in Tunceli and 49 in Siirt, along with hundreds of others in nearby provinces.

Videos showed snow-clearing vehicles and other city personnel making efforts to clear the snow on the village roads as well as town centres.

Production: İsmet Mikailogullari, Ali Kucukgocmen/Reuters

Roads to hundreds of villages and rural areas were closed in provinces across Turkey's east on Friday (January 2) due to heavy snowfall in the region in recent days.