Lithuania sends four soldiers and vehicles to storm-hit Anykščiai

Four soldiers and two vehicles with crews are being sent to Anykščiai district, where some residents remain without electricity after a storm, LRT reported, citing district Mayor Kęstutis Tubis.

Tubis said on Wednesday evening that he had spoken by phone with Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas and had also formally requested military assistance. Acting Defence Minister Martynas Katelynas subsequently ordered the deployment.

“Seeing that this amount of assistance is insufficient, I have again appealed to the Ministry of National Defence for additional military forces,” Tubis wrote on Facebook.

Speaking to LRT Radio on Wednesday morning, the mayor said that “the majority of the district is without electricity.”

Rasa Juodkienė, a representative of electricity distribution operator ESO, told ELTA on Wednesday afternoon that about 69,000 customers across Lithuania still had no electricity. The most difficult situation was reported in the Utena and Kaunas regions.

The Anykščiai district municipality declared a state of emergency on Monday. The government also approved a nationwide state of emergency on Wednesday after the storm left residents and businesses without electricity and farmers counting their losses.

Energy Minister Lukas Savickas said that several crews from Poland’s electricity distribution operator would join restoration work in Lithuania from Thursday. ESO plans to restore electricity to all customers by Saturday.

The storm, which struck on Saturday, brought down trees in many parts of Lithuania. One person was killed and four were injured, while power supplies were disrupted for more than 268,000 customers.