Storm damage in Lithuania nears €1 million as trees and roofs fall

Damage from weekend storms in Lithuania is approaching €1 million, with the worst-affected areas in Vilnius County, LRT reported. Fallen trees and flooded roads were still being cleared on Monday, while Varėna District also reported extensive damage from strong winds.

Television programme producer Audrius Giržadas, who lives in the Avižieniai eldership, said the storm uprooted a willow he had planted 20 years ago and an old oak. The oak fell onto a gazebo, damaging property at his home.

“Because of all the noise, you could barely hear the trees falling. But when we shone a light and saw what had happened in the yard, we rushed to move the cars out of the gazebo, because the tree is lying on it now,” Giržadas said.

Giržadas said he and his family had cleared the yard themselves and had contacted an insurance company about the trees. “Today the saws will start roaring here. It will be an orchestra of saws,” he said.

In Vilnius District, fallen trees have been removed and flooded roads repaired since Sunday. Municipal administration director Vytautas Vansavičius said the municipality could provide some support to residents from the mayor’s reserve fund.

“We have cases where two roofs were torn off. One roof was damaged when a tree fell on it, so the municipality may be able to allocate some funds from the mayor’s reserve,” Vansavičius said.

Grinda, the capital’s municipal services company, said the downpour was one of the strongest in the past decade. It called in an additional 20 workers overnight because of flooded streets, open manholes and flooded underground car parks, followed by another 50 workers on Sunday.

“The biggest emergencies were on Savanorių Avenue, the Vilnius bypass and Mozūriškiai Street, where we really had to bring in additional resources,” said Iveta Gasparavičienė, project manager of Grinda’s emergency services team. She said all major streets had been cleared.

Insurers said around 400 customers had already reported losses, totalling €600,000. The reported damage included flooded basements, roofs torn off by localised wind gusts, damaged garden furniture, overturned gazebos, and outdoor items such as trampolines and barbecues being blown away.

Residents of Puodžiai village in Varėna District were also assessing the damage. Ona Mačionienė said the roof of her house had been torn off, soaking belongings and walls inside, while a pool in the yard was destroyed. She said the property was uninsured.

Another house in the village also lost its roof. Its owner, Regina Taraškevičienė, said she was relieved that the property was insured. “I looked around and the pool was floating everywhere. Water was running down from the second floor, and you could almost wade through it,” she recalled.

Varėna District Municipality also said it would support residents affected by the storm. Deputy mayor Alvydas Verbickas said residents must first repair their damaged property and could apply to the municipality within 180 days for reimbursement of expenses, partly funded through the mayor’s reserve.