Storms and heavy winds cause chaos across parts of Czechia

In the Central Bohemian, Hradec Králové, and Pardubice regions of the Czech Republic, firefighters last night were on constant alert, responding to numerous incidents caused by severe storms and strong winds that battered the region from Tuesday evening until the early hours of Wednesday. Their duties primarily entailed removing fallen trees, but the damage extended to roofs of houses and disruptions to railway traffic in some areas.

Central Bohemian firefighters were particularly busy, responding to calls related to storm damage. In the village of Běleč in Berounsk, they even intervened when a train collided with a fallen tree, fortunately avoiding any injuries. The highest number of call-outs were reported in the Benešovska and Mladoboleslavska regions, as well as in the Prague-west and Prague-east districts.

Railway operations in the affected regions were also hampered as fallen trees damaged traction lines between Libčice and Kralupy nad Vltavou. As a result, the Railway Administration had to deploy a diesel locomotive for temporary operation and suspended service for at least two hours to carry out repairs. Replacement buses were arranged between Prague and Kralupy.

In the Ústí nad Labem Region, firefighters responded to approximately fifty incidents overnight, mainly clearing roads blocked by fallen trees and branches. Meanwhile, in the Hradec Králové Region, 107 incidents were recorded, primarily involving the removal of trees that had fallen on parked cars. The strong winds also inflicted damage to house roofs in several instances.

Energy workers in the Jičín and Hradec regions worked tirelessly to address five faults on high-voltage lines caused by branches and trees falling onto power lines. The majority of households in eastern Bohemia that experienced power outages had their service restored by 7 a.m.

In the Pilsen region, firefighters were called to more than sixty events resulting from the previous evening's storm and strong winds. Their interventions were mainly focused on clearing roads blocked by fallen trees. Two train incidents occurred when trains collided with fallen trees near Srby in southern Pilsen and Hrádek near Sušice in Klatovsk. Remarkably, no injuries were reported in either incident, though train service was temporarily suspended with replacement buses in operation.

Finally, in the Vysočina region, strong winds and fallen trees disrupted train traffic between Havlíčkový Brod and Šlapanov, with services also affected between Rantířov and Kostelec u Jihlava. Firefighters were called to clear fallen trees, but despite the challenges, no injuries were reported. Substituted bus services were arranged for affected train routes.

The recent severe weather conditions underscore the essential role of emergency responders and utility workers in maintaining safety and restoring normalcy during such incidents. The affected regions are now focused on recovery and repair efforts to ensure minimal disruptions to daily life.

No further storms or strong winds are forecast for this week or weekend in the country, according to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute.