Storms topple trees across Lithuania and hit Kernavė

Severe storms swept across Lithuania on Thursday evening and overnight, toppling trees, damaging roofs and disrupting traffic, LRT reported. The worst damage was recorded in the Dzūkija region, while the storm also affected the Kernavė cultural reserve.

Firefighters were called 49 times to remove trees brought down by the storm, including 25 times in Alytus County. No injuries were reported.

“The tree-removal work continued throughout the night. In some cases, as many as 50 trees were cleared during a single callout, as happened in Varėna District. In Lazdijai District, 25 trees were removed during one callout,” Saulius Raščevskis, a senior specialist at the Situation Coordination Division of the Fire and Rescue Department, told ELTA on Friday morning.

Most of the trees fell onto roads. In three cases, trees landed on cars, while another fell onto a building. Firefighters also removed trees from power lines four times. In Šalčininkai District, a tree fell onto the roof of a two-storey apartment building. No one was hurt in these incidents.

Jolita Orentaitė, head of communications at the Fire and Rescue Department, said the service could receive more calls on Friday. She described the previous 24 hours as one of the most difficult periods for dealing with the aftermath of a storm.

Most of the work involved clearing roads, but firefighters also removed trees from cars and buildings. There were also more calls than usual involving trees that had fallen onto power lines.

Seimas member Angelė Jakavonytė said on Thursday evening that the storm had damaged the homestead of partisan Juozas Jakavonis-Tigras.

In Kaunas, a tree fell across the entire carriageway on Perkūno Avenue. Firefighters cut it up with a chainsaw and cleared the road.

In Tartupis village, in Prienai District, six trees fell across several sections of the Marijampolė Highway and blocked traffic. Firefighters removed them with a chainsaw.

In Ignacava village, also in Prienai District, firefighters removed five trees that had fallen onto the road and posed a danger to traffic. In Išmanai village, in the Balbieriškis eldership, fallen trees blocked one lane.

In Birštonas, a tree fell onto a car in a parking area on B. Sruogos Street. Firefighters initially removed part of the tree but temporarily halted the work because of the risk of causing further damage to the vehicle. The remaining section was removed after the car’s owner arrived.

Another tree fell onto the road in Birštonas’s Karalienė Barbora Avenue and was removed by firefighters. Five trees were also cleared from several locations on Turistų Street.

In Balaikai village, in the Liudvinavas eldership of Marijampolė Municipality, a tree leaned dangerously onto power lines. Firefighters remained at the scene until ESO workers arrived.