Lithuania declares emergency in three Vilnius district municipalities after storm damage

Three municipalities in the Vilnius district of Lithuania have declared a state of emergency after a severe storm caused widespread damage. The decision, announced by Vilnius District Mayor Robertas Duchnevičius, aims to speed up the coordination of work and the allocation of resources to assist residents and municipal institutions.

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The most important thing is to help people as quickly as possible and remove the consequences of the storm. Declaring an emergency in the most affected municipalities will provide more opportunities to promptly coordinate work, mobilize necessary resources, and provide assistance not only to affected residents but also to municipal institutions and elders.

The storm, characterized by a squall with wind speeds potentially reaching 28 m/s in some areas, caused significant destruction to both public infrastructure and private properties. Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service data confirmed the storm as a natural meteorological phenomenon.

Municipal administration director Vytautas Vansavičius stated that since Sunday morning, municipalities have been operating in an enhanced mode, clearing fallen trees, repairing roads, and registering damage reports. "There is still a lot of work to be done, but we aim to remove the consequences of the storm as quickly as possible," he said.

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Since Sunday morning, the elders have been working in an enhanced mode – clearing fallen trees, tidying up roads, registering resident reports and collecting information about the damage caused by the storm. There is still a lot of work to be done, but we aim to remove the consequences of the storm as quickly as possible.

Following the state of emergency declaration, elders will serve as operations managers in each affected municipality. Commissions will be established to evaluate damage to real estate reported by residents and legal entities, and to propose financial assistance. Meanwhile, in the Varėna district, emergency services removed approximately 70 fallen trees from roads, with significant damage reported in Jakėnai municipality, including roofs torn off houses and power lines downed.

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The storm hit Jakėnų municipality's Puodžiai village the hardest. Strong winds tore off the roofs of several residential and industrial buildings, felled numerous trees, and some residents were left without electricity – power lines were cut, with trees hanging on them. We sincerely sympathize with the residents affected by this disaster. Varėna district municipality's fire services worked all night.