Copenhagen. Stormy weather in the Baltic Sea region killed at least one person on Monday and caused airport delays, the partial derailment of a train and the suspension of ferry services.
Three people were taken to a hospital in Sweden after two of a train’s passenger carriages skidded off the tracks in Hudiksvall, a town 280 kilometers (174 miles) north of Stockholm, police said.
The derailment occurred because “the embankment was weakened by heavy rains and landslides,” according to authorities, who said they did not know the severity of their injuries. 120 people were traveling on the train, Swedish media reported.
Ferries linking Poland with Sweden, two German islands with mainland German territory, and Norway with Denmark remained in port. Ferries and water taxis serving the German islands of Hiddensee and Ruegen were canceled for Monday and Tuesday morning, and vacationers were asked to change their travel plans for Wednesday.
In Lithuania, a 50-year-old woman was killed by falling trees near the Latvian border. The area was badly damaged with several roofs torn off and thousands of people without power.
In the neighboring Baltic state of Latvia, television reported trees falling due to wind gusts of up to 108 km/h (67 mph), and meteorologists also reported golf ball-sized hail in Apgulde, a village southwest of Riga, the capital.
The Baltic News Service news agency reported that the storm caused extensive damage in the nearby Dobele region. Posts on social media showed that one of the affected properties was a park in Tervete, a popular recreational area that includes a children’s play area inspired by Latvian fairy tales. The park will remain closed until next week.
Heavy rain and hail were also reported in Estonia, the third Baltic country.
In Denmark, police in the northeast of the country said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “the weather remains hostile.”
The Greater Copenhagen Fire Department urged people to stay away from parks and forests, noting that “the combination of rain-soaked ground and storms increases the risk of falling trees.”
In southern Norway, authorities have raised the extreme weather alert to its highest level due to heavy rain, landslides and flash floods. Flooded streets were also reported in Oslo, the capital of Norway.
On Sunday, thousands of lightning strikes were recorded in Sweden.
