Rip-Roaring Wind Storm Herwart Shuts Down Castle, Zoo, & Designblok

Extremely strong winds on Sunday have resulted in a series of closures and evacuations of Prague landmarks.

Yesterday also saw Prague Zoo close for the first time since the floods of 2013. No animals were reported injured or lost but the zoo remains shuttered for clean-up of several of its enclosures today.

On a lighter note, the zoo director Miroslav Bobek is encouraging anyone with downed willow, oak, or beech branches to contact zoo management—they may be able to collect your fallen debris to be used as feed.

The Industrial Palace of the Holešovice Exhibition grounds saw its prefabricated left wing damaged and the roof tore off its historic main building.

Visitors attending Designblok 2017 at the exhibition grounds were evacuated and the remainder of the events at this location has been canceled, according to a post from the Designblok Facebook page:

Firefighters in the Czech capital logged a record volume of visits and calls largely due to downed trees and dislodged roofs. Their hotline was overloaded.

“The number of trips to technical events was about 4589% higher than the long-term average,” a press release from the fire department states.

Winds reached more than 100 kph (60 miles per hour) in several parts of the Czech Republic—on Snezka the country’s highest mountain, Czech Television reported winds of 180 kph. Other calamities included a scaffolding crash in Zizkov and severe roof damage at a school in Brno.

Over half a million households remain without electricity throughout the country. The windstorm claimed the lives of two people, a man and a woman, both victims of fallen trees.

Facebook Safety Check was activated for Germany and the Czech Republic yesterday.