Strong winds and snowfall leave thousands of homes without electricity in Finland, Sweden and Norway. A falling tree kills a person near a Swedish ski resort. A winter storm hit the Scandinavian countries hard this Saturday (27/12), leaving one dead and thousands of homes without electricity.
Forecasters said the storm, which toppled trees, disrupted traffic and downed power lines, would move south and likely reach its peak Saturday night.
Named Johannes in Sweden and Hannes in Finland, the storm caused dangerous travel conditions, with high winds and waves of up to seven meters, the Helsinki Times newspaper reported.
In Finland, more than 5,000 homes were left without power in the early hours of Saturday, with supplies disrupted across a wider area throughout the day. The public broadcaster Yle estimated the total number of households without electricity at 33,000.
Flights at Kittilä Airport in northern Finland were canceled after strong winds pushed an airliner and a smaller plane off the runway and into a snowbank. There were no injuries.
Several ferry and sightseeing cruise routes have been suspended due to dangerous sea conditions. Local newspapers reported that strong winds combined with snow created zero visibility conditions in several areas.
Deaths in Sweden
Winds approaching hurricane force were recorded in parts of Sweden.
In the central Swedish town of Sandviken, a man died after being hit by a falling tree branch, the TT news agency reported.
Local police said the man was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.
Swedish broadcaster SVT said the man was around 50 years old and was hiking in a nature reserve near the Kungsberget ski resort.
In Sweden, more than 40,000 homes were left without power and several train services were canceled, TT reported.
The Aftonbladet newspaper quoted a meteorologist as saying the storm was moving south and the country would face even stronger winds on Saturday evening.
Unrest in northern Norway
In Norway’s Nordland region, emergency teams have reached capacity as firefighters responded to more than 200 weather-related incidents, broadcaster NKO reported.
The storm left around 23,000 homes without power in Nordland, a sparsely populated area. Another 9,000 people were left without power in an inland region.
Several flights, train and ferry services were canceled and roads were closed.
rc (AFP, DPA)
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