Stormy night passes with only minor damage in Estonia
The Rescue Board reports that last night was relatively calm in Estonia and the snowstorm did not cause major damage. Data from distribution system operator Elektrilevi suggests that at worst 5,000 households were without power around 3-4 a.m. and that most people should see their power restored by Thursday evening.
Meelis Mesi, the board's operational duty officer, told Vikerraadio that the night was relatively calm. While a few trees had fallen on roads, there were no major storm damages.
Elektrilevi's Mihkel Härm said that while wind speeds exceeded 30 m/s at night, which usually results in serious damage, the situation was worst around 3 or 4 a.m. when 5,000 customers were without power, while this had fallen to 2,000 by 7 a.m. The outages were most frequent in Saare, Pärnu and Harju counties.
Härm said that power should be restored to all customers by Thursday evening.
The storm has largely ended in Western Estonia and the roads have been cleared of snow, while conditions are a little more difficult east and south. While snow clearing efforts are in full swing, snow continues to fall in those parts of Estonia, Janno Sammul, head of roads maintenance for the Transport Administration, told ERR.
Snowfall and blizzards will continue in the east of the country on Thursday, while light snow will gradually give way to rain in the west. The temperatures will range from +1 in the west to -3 degrees elsewhere.
The Transport Administration asks people to take more time for their commute, especially when taking sideroads the clearing of which takes more time.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Marcus Turovski
