Storm Hits Baltic States and Poland: Tens of Thousands of People without Power, Human Casualties

A storm in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland on Sunday and Monday caused significant damage and human casualties. Three people died in Poland and Lithuania.

This was reported by local media outlets Delfi, LRT and RMF24.

Record rainfall fell in central Latvia. About 30,000 people were left without electricity. Rescuers received about 600 calls. Most often, they had to clear roadways of fallen trees and branches. 

Traffic on several highways was blocked or restricted, and train and plane traffic was disrupted.

Due to the storm and its aftermath, the delivery of Latvijas pasts press and parcels is delayed throughout Latvia. Interregional bus services may also be cancelled.

Two people died and thousands of homes lost power as a result of thunderstorms with strong winds that hit Poland on Sunday and Monday. The strongest thunderstorms occurred in the northern and central parts of the country. In Łódź, a 60-year-old woman was killed by a tree blown down by the wind. Another fatal incident occurred on Lake Negocin in the Gieżyckie County in the northeast, where a gale of winds overturned a sailboat.

As of Monday morning, about 30,000 households remained without power, and railway lines were also damaged in some places. 

More than 150,000 households have been left without electricity due to the disaster in Lithuania. Rescuers report that they have received about 400 reports of trees falling on roads and other consequences of the storm. The most affected areas are Alytus and Klaipeda. Trees fell not only on roads but also on cars and buildings.

On Monday, Lithuania reported the first fatality as a result of the bad weather with squally winds. The fatal incident took place on 29 July in the town of Grigiskes near Vilnius, when a man died as a result of a tree falling down in the wind. It happened at around 9am.