Powerful storm hits Baltic states, kills 2 and leaves 5 lakh people without power

A powerful cyclone battered Latvia and Lithuania, causing deaths, outages and travel disruption. Officials expect gradual improvement, while experts say climate change may have intensified the rainfall.In Poland, more than 100,000 people lost power. (File Image: Reuters)At least two people died and around half a million people were left without electricity after a powerful cyclone brought heavy rain and strong winds to Latvia and Lithuania from Saturday into Sunday morning. The storm also disrupted transport and communications, while parts of Estonia and north-eastern Poland were affected as well.Officials in Latvia said the situation was expected to improve on Sunday and certainly by Monday. In Lithuania, one person was killed after being hit by a falling tree, while strong winds in Estonia disrupted ferry services and delayed trains arriving from Latvia and Lithuania. In Poland, more than 100,000 people lost power.In Latvia, one person died in Jelgava in the central part of the country after part of a building collapsed on Saturday, and others were injured in different parts of the country. Wind speeds in the capital, Riga, crossed 67 mph on Saturday, while many weather stations recorded half of the average monthly rainfall in a single day. More than 250,000 people were left without electricity and mobile services were disrupted. Rail and other public transport services were hit after trees and other objects fell on infrastructure, and Riga airport said on Sunday morning that flights could be delayed or rerouted because of the severe storm overnight.In Lithuania, more than 200,000 residents were without electricity on Sunday morning. In Estonia, the western and northern regions and the islands were the worst affected, with ferry services to the islands disrupted. In Latvia, Andris Viksna of the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre told AP, "This seems to be the most severe storm in Latvia since 2005 in terms of its overall impact." He also said the role of climate change could not be properly assessed yet, but added that "it is plausible that human-caused climate change may have intensified the rainfall associated with the cyclone." The cyclone left a trail of deaths, injuries, power cuts and transport disruption across Latvia, Lithuania and parts of the wider region, though officials said conditions were expected to improve through Sunday and by Monday.- EndsWith PTI InputsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 23, 2026 17:26 IST