More storms expected today in Hungary, says PM Orbán – UPDATED: disaster management announcement
Weather forecasts show more storms coming on Tuesday and Wednesday, but “we can breathe a sigh of relief by the weekend. Let’s look after each other,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Facebook on Tuesday.
In a video posted after a visit to the emergency transport centre of national railway and coach company MÁV-Volán, Orbán said: “It’s mostly young people who work here; they are enthusiastic and dedicated.” The prime minister expressed thanks to all the workers for their persistent efforts to keep the railways operational despite the weather disruptions.
“The fact that they managed to improve the situation a lot last night was mainly thanks to their dedication,” Orbán said. “We thanked them for the work but I can tell that the tasks are not yet over, because forecasts show that storms can be expected even tonight, especially on the Pecs-Budapest line, then on the way towards Szolnok, that can cause difficulties.”
He added that he was certain the outcome would not depend on the people working in the centre. “They also direct the buses from here that can be used to rescue people stuck on trains, so they can be transported to their destination. This is the centre and heart of rescue operations in times of emergency,” he said.
Orbán said the forecasts showed difficulties for Tuesday and Wednesday but afterwards the situation is expected to become easier.
MVM restores power to 173,000 customers after storm
MVM has restored power to 173,000 customers after a storm on Monday, the state-owned energy group said on social media on Tuesday. MVM is working to restore power to the remaining 17,000 customers affected by the storm that brought 100km/h winds.
UPDATE: Disaster management authority: 9,752 incidents reported by early Wednesday
The Disaster Management Authority received reports of 9,752 incidents nationwide where storms caused damage by 6am on Wednesday, the authority has said, adding that in 5,008 cases, the fire departments have already handled the incident.
The fire departments deployed 502 responders to storm-damaged sites; their work was helped by 310 volunteer firemen’s associations and ambulance services from 72 organisations, and 74 members of local authorities’ fire departments, the statement said.
The professional fire department of Hajdu-Bihar County has been on 24/7 alert since Wednesday morning, which means a 50-strong reinforcement. The counties of Csongrad-Csanad, Hajdu-Bihar, Pest and Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg have also received reinforcements from lesser-hit counties, the statement said.
By Wednesday morning, the number of households without electricity was reduced to 21,765.
Due to the storms on Tuesday, 16 localities were left without running water in Hajdu-Bihar County because of damaged power lines, but services were restored before 10pm, the statement said.
The national weather service HungaroMet forecast showers and storms early on Wednesday near the north-east borders, and stiff north-easterly winds in north-west and central Hungary.
Read also:
- Historic storm tore roofs off buildings, left areas without proper transportation, electricity in Hungary – PHOTOS and VIDEOS
- Orbán cabinet introduces sweeping changes to foreign investment rules in Hungary
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