MOSCOW (AP) — The emergencies ministry in Belarus said Wednesday that six people died in a heavy weekend storm that swept through much of the country, and officials said that some cities are still experiencing problems with water and electricity.
The ministry reported that 330 cities and villages were damaged in Sunday’s storm in the Brest, Gomel and Mogilev regions in the country’s south. Video footage from the ministry shows fallen trees, wrecked cars and houses without roofs.
The worst-hit city, Mazyr, home to a major oil refinery, remains without electricity in some areas.
“We have never encountered anything like this, when the energy system lost all the power generating and supplying all lines in the Mazyr region and surrounding areas,” said Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Sivak.
“The wind was abnormally strong and this led to the destruction of high-voltage lines,” Sivak added.