BERLIN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- German police are providing 230 emergency forces to support workers in snow-covered areas of south Bavaria as heavy snowfall continues, Germany's interior minister Horst Seehofer announced on Monday.
During his visit to Berchtesgaden, a small town in the Bavarian Alps where hundreds of people had been trapped by snow in the previous days, Seehofer said that "it is a signal that you just stand together in such a situation."
The responsible district administrator of Berchtesgaden had asked the German police for help last Saturday. By now, more than 1,000 forces of the German Armed Forces, fire departments, the German Red Cross as well as the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) have started clearing snow masses from roofs in danger of collapsing.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed appreciation to all who are on permanent duty in order to help their fellow citizens and to ensure smooth traffic and sufficient supplies as far as possible, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said.
On Monday, an avalanche with a width of 300 meters hit a hotel in the winter ski resort of Balderschwang, the second smallest community in Bavaria but no one was injured by the snow masses, according to a police spokesman.
Since last week, the second highest avalanche warning level is in effect in the Bavarian Alps.
Due to the ongoing danger of avalanches, driveways to Balderschwang have been closed since Sunday. About 1,300 people are still stuck in the German skiing resort.
The Germany's National Meteorological Service (DWD) predicts fresh snow in the Bavarian Alps by Tuesday afternoon.
Besides the interior minister, defense minister Ursula von der Leyen has also promised additional help to the districts affected by snow chaos and appreciates soldiers "fighting shoulder to shoulder" against the snow chaos.
