Storm leaves flooded streets and fallen trees across Lithuania

A strong storm swept across Lithuania overnight, flooding streets and bringing down trees, with eastern parts of the country worst affected, LRT reported.

Firefighters responded 37 times to remove fallen trees, including 27 incidents in Vilnius County, according to Giedrius Vaičiulis of the Fire and Rescue Department. There were also five incidents in Alytus County, two each in Klaipėda and Utena counties, and one in Telšiai County.

In 34 cases, firefighters cleared trees from roads. Two trees had fallen onto power lines and one onto a building. About 5,400 residents were without electricity because of outages, according to the electricity distribution operator ESO.

Forecaster Elena Kliukina said almost 35 millimetres of rain fell in Vilnius District and nearly 27 millimetres in Varėna District. Heavy rain was also recorded in Švenčionys, Šeduva, Biržai and Pakruojis.

Vilnius District Mayor Robert Duchnevič said the worst damage was reported in the Avižieniai and Riešė elderships. Authorities and contractors were clearing fallen trees and other obstacles to reopen roads and walkways, while ESO worked to repair damage to the electricity network.

Road maintenance company Kelių priežiūra said crews had been working continuously since about 11 p.m. Saturday to remove water that had accumulated under the Bukiškis viaduct in Avižieniai, Vilnius District. The road under the viaduct remained closed because of the high water level, and high-capacity pumps were being used to drain it.

In Vilnius, heavy rainfall flooded several streets, including Algimanto Petro Kavoliuko Street and Laisvės Avenue. Fallen trees also disrupted public transport. Evaldas Morkūnas of the municipal company Susisiekimo paslaugos said public transport was operating smoothly and traffic lights had been restored or were being restored.

Kaunas did not have any flooded streets, according to the city’s Transport and Traffic Organisation Department.

A second-level storm warning was issued for southern and southeastern Lithuania. Kelių priežiūra urged drivers to follow temporary road signs and report flooded or tree-blocked roads to the company or mark the obstacles in the Waze app.