Over 100 employees and 24 rescue units from Jokilaakso Rescue Services responded to 140 calls on Sunday, after Storm Eino moved through their part of Northern Ostrobothnia. “We expected a busy day and that is what we got. Our first calls came in one in the morning and we worked non-stop until 13:30,” explained Jokilaakso Fire Brigade Chief Kauko Himanka.
Most of the damage was caused by fallen trees on roads, electric lines and homesteads. In Haapajärvi, one car collided with a downed tree and another was rendered immobile by the rising water. “A family was returning from a weekend at their cabin and the road to their cottage was flooded. Their car became stuck but was eventually towed to safety,” said Himanka.
Restoring the grid
Electric company Elenia worked through the night to repair the damage and restore power to the affected areas. Elenia’s Communications Manager Heini Kuusela-Opas said the company planned to devote the next several days to clean-up efforts, and stated that the damage from Eino is equivalent to the Tapani and Hannu storms that hit Finland in late 2011.
Kuusela-Opas thought the storm has been most destructive in Central Finland, with wide-ranging power outages in effect in Kuhmo, Kannonkoski and Kivijärvi. Hundreds of faults in the electric grid were attributed to fallen trees and branches. A better evaluation of the extent of the storm will be possible from the air on Monday morning. Over 300 technicians were hard at work to repair the damage on Sunday, some working through the night.
”The first priority is to restore the electric feed, the network backbone,” said Kuusela-Opas. Darkness somewhat hampers the technicians’ work, but once the morning dawns, work will begin again in earnest. Arto Nieminen of Järvi-Suomen Energia Oy said, “A lot depends on the extent of damage that has befallen the small voltage network. At any rate, it will be at least the middle of the week before electricity is returned to all of the area homes.”
