Polish firefighters intervened over 900 times on Saturday due to difficult weather conditions. The most difficult situation was in the northern part of the country. Wet, heavy snow broke branches and toppled trees, damaged power lines and made travel difficult. It may also be dangerous on Sunday.
By 9 p.m. on Saturday, firefighters across the country received 913 calls related to heavy snowfall, said Senior Brig. Karol Kierzkowski, press spokesman for the Chief Commander of the State Fire Service. Most incidents took place in the province. Pomeranian Voivodeship (526), including the counties of Wejherowo (195), Bytów (119), Kartuzy (61), Puck (40), Słupsk (38) and Lębork (35). The activities included removing broken trees and helping in road collisions.
In Gdańsk Pomerania, increases in water levels were recorded in Rowy, Łeba and Nowy Dwór County. In Łeba, at ul. The yacht port building was secured on Jachtowa Street due to the high level of the Baltic Sea and unfavorable winds. Water poured into the parking lot next to the marina building. The city mayor convened a meeting of the crisis management staff. In Rowy on the Łupawa River, water poured onto the properties at ul. Rybacka, threatening the buildings.
Interventions in Western Pomerania
Firefighters intervened 297 times in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, 19 in Małopolska and 10 times in the Silesian, Lower Silesian and Masovian Voivodeships. Fallen trees and branches broken by the snow were removed. Numerous road collisions were also reported.
Volunteers from the Złocieniec Volunteer Fire Department in Drawsko County (West Pomeranian Voivodeship) had their hands full on Saturday. In the afternoon they went to intervene at ul. Pancerniaków, where a tree branch broke under the weight of snow. A branch fell on power lines and started burning. During the day, volunteers also secured a tree that had fallen on a power line on the route between Złocieniec and Siecino.
Afternoon action in ZłocieniecVolunteer Fire Department Złocieniec
During the day, volunteers also helped a truck driver remove his vehicle from a railway crossing. Volunteer firefighters were returning from removing a fallen tree from the route between the towns of Stawno and Kranisk. They saw that on the national road 20, at the railway crossing in Złocieniec, there was a truck parked, and its driver had difficulty driving through the crossing due to the snow on the road.
Difficult road conditionsVolunteer Fire Department Złocieniec
A few hours after the incident, it turned out that the driver, helped by firefighters from the Volunteer Fire Department, was helping a woman whose car had run off the road and got stuck in a ditch. This event, in turn, took place in the Węgorzyno commune. The driver stopped and helped the woman get the vehicle out. She was not injured.
Difficult road conditions after snowfallVolunteer Fire Department Złocieniec
Thousands of customers without electricity
42 thousand customers remained without electricity in the province. Pomeranian and West Pomeranian Voivodeships due to heavy snowfall, which caused network damage and failures – Energa Operator informed on Saturday evening. The most difficult situation occurred in the following regions: Bytów, Lębork, Bialogard and Szczecinek.
Almost 100 brigades of the Emergency Energy Service have been removing the effects of a mass failure caused by heavy, wet snowfall since Saturday morning. “Energy engineers are working non-stop to restore power, but heavy snowfall is causing further damage to the network and failures, and is also making repairs more difficult,” the company said.
The tree damaged a power lineVolunteer Fire Department Złocieniec
Dangerous in Świnoujście
Water level in the port of… Świnoujście exceeded the alarm level by 40 cm (580 cm). The situation is constantly monitored by the Crisis Management Department. – This is due to strong winds with an average speed of up to 50 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 85 km/h. The wind blows from the north-west and north and causes water pressure from the Baltic Sea – said Wojciech Basałygo from the City Hall in Świnoujście. The situation was monitored by the Crisis Management Department. Joanna Agatowska, the Mayor of Świnoujście, also informed about the problems.
The State Fire Service decided to secure the slips with sandbags. – This is to prevent water from spilling onto the sidewalk. There is no threat to residential buildings, these actions are more preventive in nature. Five units are operating on site, including the County Commander of the State Fire Service – said the press spokesman of the Provincial Headquarters of the State Fire Service in Szczecin asp. Dariusz Schacht.
The tree fell on the railway track
There were also difficulties in train traffic. A tree fell on the railway traction on the Reblino – Wrześnica route. According to PKP, railway traffic on this section was suspended.
Due to the difficult weather situation, the arrival of trains to Szczecin Główny was delayed. The trains got stuck near Lębork, which is today indicated as one of the towns with the largest number of network and energy infrastructure failures.
Snow fell in the city of Czarne (Pomeranian Voivodeship). TVN24
Saturday's weather reports
At Kontakt24 we received photos of white landscapes from many places in northern Poland, including: With Gdańsk, Gdynia, Słupsk Whether Bydgoszcz.
tvnmeteo.pl, Kontakt24, PAP, TVN24
Main photo source: Volunteer Fire Department Złocieniec