Brace yourselves! Strong storms to come in the next 2 days with possible serious disruptions – PHOTOS

“Very strong” storms are expected in the next few days, “such a serious challenge has not faced Hungary in the past decades affecting railway services”. Therefore, transport minister Lázár asked for a ceasefire from his fellow politicians.

Based on Időkép, Hungary is bracing for another round of thunderstorms tomorrow morning. However, Astromet reports that the storm has unexpectedly accelerated and is now expected to hit the country between 1 and 3 AM. Prepare for heavy rainfall and powerful winds gusting over 100 km/h.

The strongest gust of wind yesterday, 137.2 km/h, was recorded on Budapest’s János Hill:

E.ON electricity provider said on Facebook that the storms had caused power outages in Baranya, Fejér, Pest, Somogy, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém and Zala counties in the western and southern parts of the country, while electricity and gas company MVM said 150,000 of its customers were left without power, mostly in the Baja, Kecskemét, and Szeged areas, in southern and south-eastern Hungary, as well as around Gyöngyös and Eger, in the north.

Both companies assured customers that their technicians were working hard to restore services as soon as possible.

MVM said the damage had been caused by hurricane-force winds blowing at over 100 km/h, and the downpours and hailstorms in which power lines were broken by falling tree trunks and branches.

Minister talks about disaster and says very strong storms will come

János Lázár, the minister of construction and transport, noted the “huge destruction” the storms left behind, and declared the area around Budapest “the site of railway disaster”. The minister visited the headquarters of the national railway and coach company MÁV-Volán and said the storms had affected “all vehicles and tracks, roads, railways and the airport”, adding that several roads have been closed down and the airports’s operations were temporarily suspended.

The minister said restoring railway services could require a few days, and warned passengers to get information about the actual services before setting off. He added that the transport company has mobilised over 200 buses to support railway services. “We will not leave anyone by the road … everybody will be transported,” Lázár said.

He added that “very strong” storms are expected in the next few days, adding that “such a serious challenge has not faced Hungary in the past decades affecting railway services”. “I ask my fellow politicians and people in public life for a ceasefire … what is needed now is support for MAV-Volán employees to restore services as soon as possible,” he added.

According to Lázár, Hungary’s railways suffered the greatest damage in Budapest, around Lake Balaton in the west, and in the Debrecen-Puspokladany area in the east.