A heavy snowstorm in the Rostov region led to the closure of 75 kilometers of the M-4 Don highway to traffic. The district traffic police announced the halt on the evening of March 30.
To manage the snow effects, two-way traffic between kilometers 907 and 983 on the M-4 Don highway was temporarily stopped from 20:00 until a formal order allowed otherwise, according to the report. The blockage affected two municipal districts, Kamensky and Krasnosulinsky, stretching almost to the Krasny Sulin turn from Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.
In response, Rostov regional traffic police urged drivers to avoid federal and regional roads until conditions improved. To support safety and assist motorists in need, staff were placed on an enhanced service mode, as stated by the department. The shift in operations aimed to rapidly respond to emergencies and guide stranded travelers.
That night, sleet and rain gave way to snow in the Rostov region, triggering a full snowstorm that persisted through the period. The severe weather caused kilometers of traffic jams on the M-4 Don and restricted heavy truck movement in several sections.
In the northern part of the Rostov region, a traffic buildup exceeded 50 kilometers in the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky district, with eyewitnesses reporting hours-long waits. After officials announced the highway closure, Governor Vasily Golubev declared a state of emergency in four districts. He explained on the Telegram channel that the emergency areas would include Shakhty, Belokalitvinsky, Kamensky, Krasnosulinsky, and Oktyabrsky.
He added that heating points had been deployed at multiple locations along the M-4 Don, including kilometer markers 925, 960, and 969, and also at kilometer 362 of the A-260 highway. Additional points were set up in Krasny Sulin and in the Kamensk region. Golubev emphasized that all regional and municipal services had been mobilized, with heavy equipment dispatched to clear the highway. To restore at least one open lane for traffic, some separator railings were temporarily dismantled.
The North Caucasus Railways press service reported that five trains bound for Rostov-on-Don were delayed due to the heavy snowfall. Trains included Adler-Vorkuta, Simferopol-Moscow, Kaliningrad-Adler, Moscow-Imeretinsky Kurort, and St. Petersburg-Adler routes. Some trains halted between Likhaya and Kamenskaya stations, as noted by the railway authority.
Additionally, the weather left about 35,000 people across eight districts and three cities in Rostov region without power. The electricity sector remained on high alert as 343 repair brigades, comprising 1,244 personnel and 640 pieces of equipment, worked around the clock to restore service. Dispatches indicated that progress was being reported hourly, with field teams continually assessing and addressing outages. Golubev explained that the storm’s impact was intensified by several concurrent accidents, complicating congestion clearance and forecasting the weather’s next movements as unfavorable in the coming hours.