Hurricane In Latvia Kills One Riga Resident

A broken tree killed a man in Riga and two houses were destroyed in the seaport of Liepaja. In other parts of Latvia roofs of houses were torn away and trees and electricity pylons were blown down. This was the initial damage caused by the hurricane raging in Latvia. The wind force reached 30 meters a second in many districts, for instance in Ventspils, the Latvian state hydrometeorological department said. The level of water in the Gulf of Riga rose to more than 1.5 metres. There is a risk of flooding in some districts of the Latvian capital. At the moment the Riga port is closed, the ports in Liepaja and Ventspils are working on a limited basis. According to meteorologists' forecasts, the storm winds will subside only on Friday. The authorities of Riga called on people not to visit city parks and not to leave cars under trees.