Gusty winds knock out power to thousands of households | News

The Finnish Meteorological Institute warned of very dangerous winds until midnight in several eastern regions

Large trees fell on cars in a parking lot in Kajaani, northwest Finland, on Saturday. Photo: Timo Sihvonen / Yle

Strong winds caused trees to fall in many parts of Finland on Saturday, causing power outages and damage to buildings and vehicles. No serious injuries were reported until early this evening.

More than 14,000 homes were without power in the late afternoon, mostly in central and eastern regions, as well as in Evijärvi, western Finland.

In Pomala, south of Savu, a tree was toppled by strong winds and collided with a moving vehicle. The windshield of the car shattered, but the driver was not hurt.

A tree fell in front of another moving car in Pixamaki. The car ended up in a fallen tree but the driver escaped again without serious injury.

Rescue services throughout southern Savoy remained busy in the afternoon.

“However, there have been no personal injuries so far,” the head of the fire department said. Johnny Hemberg Tell Yle about 3 p.m.

In Parikala, near the eastern border, Highway 6 was closed around 4 pm due to a large tree falling. The rescue service in South Karelia removed at least half a dozen fallen trees during the afternoon.

The article continues after the photo

Storm damage in Kajani on November 12. Photo: Timo Sihvonen / Yle

In Korbilahti, near Jyväskylä, a tree fell on a building, but it did not cause any major damage, the fire official said. Ifakaisa Salmi.

“So far, the situation is still somewhat calm, but we will see how it will develop. There are predictions that the winds will rise by the evening,” Al-Salmi said at around 4 pm.

The rescue service in Kainuu, in the northern part of the affected area, reported about 10 tree removal tasks – including a tree that fell on top of a car in central Kajani – but there were no major injuries.

The article continues after the photo

A tree hit a moving car in Hartola, but the driver got away unhurt. Photo: Päijät-Hämeen pelastuslaitos

To the south in the district of Päijät-Häme, a gust of wind hit a large tree on a moving car in Hartola, taking with it a power line. The medium voltage transmission line 20 kV sparked near the car, but the driver escaped unhurt.

The road at the scene was closed for about two hours, as the local electric company had to cut power to the neighborhood before the rescue service could start operating.

By 5:30 p.m., there were fewer than 10,000 customers without power.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute warned of very dangerous winds from the west or northwest with gusts of up to 20 meters per second until midnight in the eastern regions of Savoy and Karelia as well as in most offshore areas.

[ad_2]

Related posts