Strong winds cause damage in several regions across Czech Republic, could return on Sunday

Extremely fast winds hit the Czech Republic on the night from Friday to Saturday. Around Sněžka mountain, in the north of the country, speeds reached up to 166 km/h, forcing operators to turn off cable cars. The winds uprooted trees and caused damage to power lines in several other regions, including Pardubice and Liberec.

Around 20,000 households are reported to have lost their electricity connections. In the Pardubice region firefighters had to be put into action in 120 cases during the night, rescuing people stuck in lifts and clearing away debris on railway tracks and roads.

Meteorologists have warned that strong winds are also expected on Sunday around mid-day, particularly in the South Bohemian Region, the south-eastern part of Central Bohemia and east of Plzeň