The storm in Minsk felled a hundred trees, damaged vehicles, flooded streets and shopping centres, brought down a roof in a Serebryanka District market and paralysed trains for some time. National Airport Minsk was obliged to send a number of flights to an alternate airfield. Moreover, various human injuries were reported.
Elements leave their trace almost countrywide
Besides trees falling, some advertising boards collapsed and some air terminal windows were broken, with the ceiling becoming battered. Puddles formed everywhere. Most seriously, a Belavia Boeing passenger plane collided with a cargo plane, although without injury to anyone. Airport staff note that business is now continuing as usual.
The weather behaved strangely for some consecutive days, Sharkovshchina experiencing a hurricane which then blew over Dzerzhinsk and neighbouring villages. In all, 95 trees were brought down and the ground gas pipeline received damage. Tatiana, from Minsk, who was visiting her parents, recollects, “You couldn’t look out of the window as there were so many stones flying, and hailstones as large as fists. Our double-glazed windows remained intact, though some were broken. The wind was raging, breaking in two a very tall birch between our house and a neighbouring five-story building. Some private homes lost their roofs too. My sister was on an electric train at the time, and was delayed, as the line became blocked by fallen trees.”
By Dmitry Ampilov
