The damage is expected to run into the tens of millions of crowns. Photo credit: Moravian-Silesian Regional Fire Service.
Ostrava, North Moravia, Sept 12 (CTK) – A tornado hit the small village of Hrabetice in northern Moravia on Saturday afternoon. Seven fire response units attended the scene, according to Petr Kudela, spokesman for the Moravian-Silesian Fire Brigade.
It is a small miracle that this event with metal plates, armchairs and a trampoline flying high caused no injury. A huge 100-year old linden tree suddenly fell into the garden of one of the family houses in the village,” Kudela said.
The strong wind damaged roofs, broke trees and dislodged the cross from the tower of the local chapel.
Tomas Machycek, mayor of the municipality of Jesenik nad Odrou, which contains Hrabetice, told CTK that he expected the damage to reach tens of millions of crowns.
He said almost every one of the twenty houses in Hrabetice has been damaged.
“It was fast and unexpected, we didn’t even know about it here in Jesenik, it was really only local to Hrabetice,” Machycek said, adding that it was reminiscent of the flash flooding in 2009.
Hrabetice is located about one kilometre southwest of Jesenik nad Odrou.
According to Marie Glofakova, from the regional branch of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, experts visited the village yesterday and did not rule out that a tornado could have caused the damage.
Machycek said the situation was stabilised rather quickly, thanks to the firefighters who carried out repairs to broken roofs and other such tasks. “People can live in their homes,” he said.
