Heavy storms batter the Baltics

  • 2013-10-29
  • From news wires RIGA

Photo by David Holt, source: Flickr

Hundreds of thousands of people have been left with power in the Baltics after storms battered the region. Around 100,000 people were left without electricity in Latvia on Oct. 29 as a result of the St. Jude storm sweeping Europe, reports LETA.

Hardest hit areas include the port city of Liepaja, where a building under construction collapsed.

The Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service reported up to 100 emergency calls in eight hours, mostly from Riga.

Elsewhere, a felled tree in Riga dented three parked cars, also breaking several windows nearby.

In Estonia, around 60,000 homes were left without electricity, reports ERR. An estimated 11,000 customers were without power in Parnu County, followed by Saaremaa with 7,000.

A passenger train plowed into a downed tree on the Tallinn-Parnu line, although no injuries were reported among passengers while Steffani, a popular pizza restaurant in central Parnu caught on fire.

The storms are a result of St. Jude, which killed 14 people across northern Europe. Hardest hit countries include the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.