Thousands without Power after Another Big Storm
Image: Yle
Tens of thousands of households are without power across Finland following a severe storm on Wednesday. It could take days for companies to restore power. This is the second major storm to hit Finland in less than a week.
In the Kainuu region, over 5,000 households were still without power on Thursday morning. On Wednesday evening, around 15,000 households were without power in the area. Power company E.ON says that electricity is expected to return gradually.
The North Karelia Rescue Department estimates that about 7,000 homes are still without power in the region. Meanwhile, power company Savon Voima says that 8,000 homes have no electricity in South and North Savo. On Wednesday, nearly 30,000 households were without power in the regions. The areas of Vieremä, Kiuruvesi, Iisalmi, Sonkajärvi and Tervo are experiencing the most power difficulties.
In South Karelia, 4,000 households are without power. The blackout could continue for up to a week.
Furthermore, 7,000 Vattenfall customers have no electricity in Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and East Häme. Fortum says 160 customers in North Ostrobothnia are also experiencing power shortages.
Meanwhile, many households are still without power following last week’s severe thunderstorm. Power companies say that Wednesday’s storm will hinder power restoration for homes which lost power last week.
Problems with Trains
Storm-felled trees have also caused havoc to train services. For example, trains between Saari and Imatra are not running. A bus service has been made available for passengers for the next two days. However, the train service between Joensuu and Saari is running.
Furthermore, two early morning trains between Kuopio and Pieksämäki were cancelled on Thursday. Passengers were transferred to another train.
Train service between Pieksämäki and Haapakoski was also experiencing problems on Wednesday evening. However, the service was repaired early Thursday morning.
Mobile Phone Disruptions
Many mobile phone services are also down following the storm. Customers in parts of Southern and Central Finland are experiencing the most difficulties.
Teleoperator DNA says about 50 to 60 of its base stations in Tampere, Jyväskylä and Kuopio are having problems. Furthermore, about 10 to 20 base stations in Savonlinna are still not operating following last week’s storm.
Teleoperator Sonera says customers in the regions of Häme, Central Finland, Savo, Karelia and Kainuu are also having trouble with mobile phone services.
YLE