Hailstorm havoc in Romania: Thousands of interventions in Bucharest
The landscape in some Romanian cities looks as if the country has come under fire. However, a powerful hailstorm caused punctured car windows and damaged house walls. Strong storms passing over the country especially affected the capital. Firefighters carried out over 500 interventions.
5:13 AM EDT, June 15, 2024
According to Polsat News, in Bucharest alone, heavy rains blocked dozens of streets, and strong hail damaged several buildings.
Two Ro Alert notifications were sent to residents. The message informed residents to stay indoors if possible, as weather conditions could be dangerous.
Meteorological warning for medium to possibly large-sized hail, gusty winds exceeding 44-56 mph, frequent lightning, heavy rains. Duration: 5:20 PM-6:30 PM ET - read one of the notifications.
Storms in Romania. Flooded shops, paralyzed airport
From Thursday night to Friday morning, firefighters participated in 504 interventions, of which 427 took place in Bucharest.
104 trees and seven power poles were destroyed. 127 streets, 229 houses and households, and 97 cars were damaged. Some vehicles were almost killed by hail that dented hoods and shattered windows upon impact. Building facades and roofs were also damaged by the hail.
Storms and heavy rains paralyzed the work at Bucharest-Otopeni airport for some time. Some flights had to be diverted to Bulgaria.
Huge storms also swept over the city of Cluj-Napoca in the northwestern part of Romania, where under the weight of a large amount of rain, the roof of a shopping center collapsed. Shops were flooded.
