The Varėna District Municipality Emergency Operations Center, convened on Thursday evening, continues its work; a meeting with representatives of responsible services was held on Friday morning, reports the Varėna District Municipality. During the meeting, the situation following last night’s storm was discussed, the consequences assessed, further work coordinated, and assistance to residents organized.
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Before the consequences of the storm that swept through the Jakėnai and Valkininkai areas last weekend could be resolved, the disaster struck the Varėna district again. This time, the Marcinkonys and Merkinė eldership areas were hit the hardest, where the squall toppled hundreds of trees, damaged residential and farm buildings, disrupted electricity supply, and complicated transportation.
One of the most challenging situations occurred on the Marcinkonys–Puvočiai–Druskininkai road. Near the village of Noruliai, about two kilometers of the road were blocked by trees, severely hindering traffic and making it completely impossible in some places. From the first reports, teams from the Varėna District Municipality Fire Protection Service were dispatched to the scene. Trees were removed from both ends of the blocked road section. Assistance was joined by fire teams from Marcinkonys and Perloja, police officers, Marcinkonys farmers with their equipment, local residents, and stopped drivers. Additional help was provided by the Makniūnai fire team from Alytus district.
The storm caused significant damage in the village of Kasčiūnai, at the historic partisan Juozas Jakavonis-Tigras’s homestead on the bank of the Merkys River. Here, century-old trees were uprooted and broken, the roofs of farm buildings were torn off, the access road was blocked by trees, and some of them fell into the Merkys River. In the Kašėtų village of the Marcinkonys eldership, a tree fell on a residential house. Fortunately, no one was injured.
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At the Emergency Operations Center meeting, further work on eliminating the consequences, the process of damage assessment, ensuring residents’ safety, and inter-institutional cooperation were discussed. Responsible services continue to work in an intensified mode, removing fallen trees, clearing roads, and responding to residents’ reports.
The leaders of Varėna District Municipality thank everyone who contributes to eliminating the storm’s consequences – firefighters, police officers, eldership employees, farmers, electricity network specialists, local residents, and volunteers providing assistance.
Residents are urged to remain vigilant, avoid forested areas and blocked roads, not to approach downed power lines, and to immediately report observed dangers to the responsible services.
