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Lithuania and Latvia storm damage and power outages escalate

Updated 9 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-23 06:46 UTC → 2026-08-23 06:51 UTC · added removed

Following the initial windstorm in early August 2026, Lithuania experienced a significant escalation in severe weather. While early damage was concentrated in the Vilnius district and southern forests, new extreme weather events have caused widespread national disruption. By late August, hurricane-force wind gusts of up to 33 meters per second were recorded in Ventas Ragas and Nida. On Saturday, August 22, a severe storm triggered record-breaking call volumes for emergency services. The Emergency Response Centre (BPC) reported receiving 11,460 calls between 7:00 and 18:30, which is more than double its typical 24-hour volume of approximately 5,000 calls. volume. The Lithuanian Fire and Rescue Service (PAGD) noted that the number of wind-related emergency calls for wind-related damage in this single day exceeded the total recorded from the beginning of the year through mid-August, suggesting the impact may be the largest seen in two decades. The scale of utility disruption has grown substantially. While early reports noted roughly 2,000 households without electricity, the number of In Lithuania, approximately 256,000 residents facing faced electricity supply issues has risen to approximately 256,000, issues, with significant outages reported in the Kaunas and Utena regions, as well as Kaunas, Utena, Klaipėda, Alytus, and Vilnius. Vilnius regions. Technical difficulties at the energy distributor ESO led many citizens to use the 112 emergency line to report outages, prompting officials to urge the public to reserve the number for life-threatening emergencies only. Primary causes of emergency calls include trees and branches falling onto power lines and blocking roads. Heavy rainfall has also outages. Casualties have been a major factor. The storm's impact included fallen trees causing injuries and a fatality confirmed in the both nations. In Lithuania’s Anykščiai district, where a man was killed by a falling tree. The storm also caused significant destruction in neighboring In Latvia, triggering the storm triggered the country’s largest power outage in 20 years. By Sunday morning, years, leaving approximately 277,000 customers of AS Sadales tīkls were without electricity. The damage in Latvia included the impact on 46 of more than 150 high-voltage substations and multiple transmission lines. Additionally, at least one death was reported in Jelgava due to a building structure collapse.

Versions

  1. 2026-08-23 06:51 UTC Lithuania and Latvia storm damage and power outages escalate
  2. 2026-08-23 06:46 UTC Lithuania and Latvia storm damage and power outages escalate
  3. 2026-08-23 06:09 UTC Lithuania storm damage and power outages escalate
  4. 2026-08-22 19:55 UTC Lithuania storm damage and power outages escalate
  5. 2026-08-22 19:17 UTC Lithuania storm damage and power outages escalate
  6. 2026-08-22 18:23 UTC Lithuania storm damage and power outages escalate
  7. 2026-08-22 18:04 UTC Lithuania storm damage and power outages escalate
  8. 2026-08-22 15:21 UTC Lithuania storm damage and power outages escalate
  9. 2026-08-07 13:25 UTC Lithuania storm damage response expands
  10. 2026-08-07 08:12 UTC Lithuania storm damage response

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