Strong winds leave about 300 Sadales tikls customers without power in Latvia
On Friday evening, 9 October, strong winds cut electricity to roughly 300 customers of Latvia's grid operator Sadales tikls. Most outages are on the western coast of Kurzeme, and no significant damage has been reported so far.
Strong winds left about 300 customers of the joint-stock company Sadales tikls (ST), Latvia's electricity distribution network operator, without power on Friday evening, 9 October. ST gave the figure to the news agency LETA. The number affected is currently small, though stormy weather can disrupt supply for more people.
The largest share of the outages is on the western coast of Kurzeme, a region in western Latvia, where around 200 ST customers have no electricity.
No major damage so far
ST told LETA that the wind has not caused significant damage to date and that the evening has been relatively calm. The company added that existing outages are being dealt with promptly and power is being restored.
Wind warnings
The State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) said earlier that by 5 p.m. on Friday it had received 13 reports of wind damage via the single emergency number. Most involved trees that had fallen onto roads.
A cell broadcast alert about very strong wind on the sea coast was sent out in western Kurzeme on Friday. Meteorologists warned that in the afternoon and evening, westerly and northwesterly winds on the coast would strengthen to gusts of 25–29 metres per second. Such wind can break branches and trees, throw unsecured objects through the air, cause damage and endanger people.
