Strong winds snap power supply in south-west region

Strong winds blew over the south-western region of the country on Saturday evening, leaving thousands of households without power supply, reported the national broadcaster Yle quoting the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

The wind hit the south coast at about 4:00 PM, resulting in power cut to about 12,000 households. Although the power supply companies restored supply of electricity to about 5,000 households, reducing the number to 7,000 within one hour, the number again increased to 13,000 at about 7:00 PM, mostly in the south-west and in the west coast.

A gust at the speed of 23.9 metres per second was recorded at Tampere-Pirkkala Airport while rail communication between Hämeenlinna and Toijala was disrupted by a fallen tree on the railway track.

The winds are likely to get stronger on Sunday morning and blow over Southern Ostrobothnia and later over Southern Lapland and Kainuu, said the Met office.