Powerful storm hits Baltic countries, killing 2 and leaving hundreds of thousands without power

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Two people died and around half a million people were left without electricity across Latvia and Lithuania after a powerful cyclone, bringing rain and strong winds, hit the region on Saturday and into Sunday morning.

“This seems to be the most severe storm in Latvia since 2005 in terms of its overall impact,” Andris Viksna, from the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, told the AP.

One person died in Jelgava, central Latvia, when part of a building collapsed on Saturday, and others were injured across the country. Wind speed exceeded 67 mph on Saturday in the capital, Riga. At many stations, half of the average monthly rainfall was recorded on Saturday.

More than a quarter-million people were left without electricity and mobile services were disrupted.

Rail and other public transport services were affected by trees and other objects falling on infrastructure. The Riga airport said on Sunday morning that flights could be delayed or rerouted because of the severe storm overnight.

One person also died in neighboring Lithuania after being hit by a falling tree. Others were injured and over 200,000 residents were without electricity on Sunday morning.

Strong winds also battered Estonia, with the western and northern parts and its islands most affected. Ferry services to islands were disrupted and trains arriving from Latvia and Lithuania delayed.

Northeastern Poland was affected by the storm, too, with over 100,000 people losing power.

The contribution of climate change cannot be properly assessed yet, said Viksna from the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, but “it is plausible that human-caused climate change may have intensified the rainfall associated with the cyclone.”

The situation was expected to improve on Sunday and certainly by Monday.