Storm cleanup continues across Latvia after nearly 1,900 emergency calls
In under 24 hours, Latvia's fire and rescue service received 1,876 calls about wind damage, more than during a similar storm response in 2024. One person died in the storm and others were injured or rescued.
By 7:00 a.m. Sunday, Latvia's State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) had received 1,876 calls to the 112 emergency line related to damage from strong winds — about 300 more than during a five-day cleanup after storms and heavy rain in July-August 2024. Riga accounted for the most calls (498), followed by the Riga region (427, including 101 from Jurmala). Latgale recorded 387 calls, Zemgale 303, Kurzeme 162, and Vidzeme 99.
Officials note the number of calls understates the actual scale of damage, since rescue crews clear additional fallen trees encountered en route to calls, and municipal services are handling further cleanup work independently.
One death, several injuries
On Saturday evening in Jelgava, a person died when part of a building collapsed; medics confirmed the death after rescuers freed the victim from the rubble. In the Bauska region, a firefighter was injured while responding to storm damage and was handed over to emergency medics. In the Aiviekste parish of Aizkraukle region, a person was struck by a falling tree. Separately, two people were rescued from dangerous situations — one trapped in a container after a tree fell on it in the Ludza region, another pulled from a house after several trees fell on it in the Talsi region.
Extra resources deployed
To handle the surge in calls, VUGD assembled 10 additional crews overnight in several municipalities in Latgale and Zemgale, and brought in 11 extra dispatchers to manage the response.
Public urged to stay home
VUGD is again asking residents to avoid unnecessary travel and not to go out to view the storm damage, as fallen trees still block many roads, making some routes difficult or impossible to pass. The service warned that leaning or partially uprooted trees, broken branches and damaged power lines can pose danger even after the wind has died down. Non-hazardous tree damage should be reported to local municipalities, power outages to grid operator Sadales tikls, and the 112 line reserved for situations involving genuine danger to life or health.
