Storm Fabienne Batters Czech Republic

Storm Fabienne blazed through Central Europe last night, leaving hundreds of thousands of locations in Germany and the Czech Republic without power and disrupting travel throughout both countries.

In the Czech Republic, dozens of trains have been unable to travel due to fallen trees on the tracks. As of early this morning, an estimated 60,000 homes are still without power, many in the Plzeň and Karlovy Vary regions.

“There are currently 60,000 homes without electricity; overnight, we managed to reduce that number by half.”

At the height of the storm in the Czech Republic last night, ČEZ reported 140,000 locations without power.

The storm moved from Germany into the Czech Republic during Sunday’s early evening hours before travelling from Bohemia into Moravia overnight.

Firefighters in Prague reported to 23 events across the city related to damage from high winds by midnight.

At reporting stations atop the Sněžka mountain, winds of 120 km/h were recorded – – hurricane-level forces according to the Beaufort wind force scale.

In the Krkonoše mountains, Fabienne also brought the first reported snowfall of the 2018-9 season.

The storm has resulted in numerous injuries and even a reported fatality.

In Germany, the storm claimed its first victim when a downed tree fell on top of a senior citizen. In Hluboček, near Olomouc, two people were injured when a fallen tree crashed into their cottage.

On Monday morning, professional and volunteer firefighters across the Czech Republic are clearing roads and trains tracks to restore travel to affected areas of the country.