Chaos in Finland: paralysis of the sky and electricity cut off by the element

Over 166 thousand households and businesses in Finland remained without electricity on Saturday evening after the storm and hurricane-force winds. This is the worst situation in the current decade, the meteorological services reported.

The strongest wind gusts (over 36 meters per second) were recorded on the west coast of Finland between the cities of Rauma and Vaasa. Fallen trees damaged power lines in many places in the country. According to distributors, repairs may last until next week.

In northern Finland, in Lapland, planes were suspended due to strong gusts. A dangerous situation occurred at the airport in Kittila when two planes, including one arriving from Geneva (with 150 passengers on board), veered off the runway and fell into a snowdrift due to strong side winds and freezing sleet. According to the rescue services, no one was injured, but difficult weather conditions forced the airport operator Finavia to suspend traffic in the region, including at the airports in Ivalo and Rovaniemi.

After the storm passes, cold Arctic air will flow over Finland, and temperatures at the turn of the year will drop to minus 10 degrees C in the Helsinki region and to minus 35 degrees in Lapland – say the meteorological services. (PAP)

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