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

A powerful cyclone struck the Baltic region over the weekend, killing two people and cutting power to roughly half a million residents across Latvia and Lithuania.

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Industry impact

The storm's disruption to Riga airport operations and regional rail networks highlights how severe Baltic weather events can strain air travel and connecting transport infrastructure with little warning.

A powerful cyclone struck the Baltic region on Saturday and into Sunday morning, killing two people and leaving around half a million residents without electricity across Latvia and Lithuania. In Latvia, one person died in Jelgava when part of a building collapsed, and others were injured nationwide; wind speeds exceeded 67 mph in Riga, more than a quarter-million people lost power, mobile services were disrupted, and rail and other public transport were hampered by falling trees and debris. Riga airport warned Sunday morning that flights could be delayed or rerouted. Andris Viksna of the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center said the storm appeared to be the most severe in Latvia since 2005 in terms of overall impact.

In Lithuania, one person died after being struck by a falling tree, others were injured, and more than 200,000 residents were without electricity on Sunday morning. Estonia was also battered by strong winds, with western and northern areas and its islands most affected, suspending ferry services and delaying trains arriving from Latvia and Lithuania. Northeastern Poland saw over 100,000 people lose power.

Viksna said the contribution of climate change to the storm could not yet be properly assessed, though he noted it was plausible that human-caused climate change intensified the rainfall associated with the cyclone. Conditions were expected to improve by Sunday and certainly by Monday.