Powerful Easter Storms Batter Much of Poland

The news in Polish

1. burza  (f.)
   zjawisko w atmosferze z deszczem, grzmotami i błyskawicami ↩︎
2. region  (m.)
   część kraju lub świata, wyróżniająca się jakimiś cechami ↩︎
3. uszkodzony
   takie, które zostało częściowo zniszczone lub nie działa dobrze ↩︎
4. energetyczny
   związany z energią, szczególnie elektryczną ↩︎
5. strażak  (m.)
   osoba, która zawodowo gasi pożary i pomaga w wypadkach ↩︎
6. wezwanie  (n.)
   prośba o szybkie przybycie lub pomoc, zwykle w nagłej sytuacji ↩︎
7. energetyczny
   dotyczący energii, związany z wytwarzaniem lub przesyłaniem prądu ↩︎
8. tysiąc  (n.)
   liczba 1000; bardzo dużo czegoś ↩︎
9. straż  (f.)
   organizacja lub grupa ludzi, która pilnuje porządku albo pomaga w niebezpiecznych sytuacjach ↩︎
10. sprzątać
    usuwać bałagan, śmieci lub niepotrzebne rzeczy, żeby było czysto i porządnie ↩︎
11. naprawiać
    robić coś znowu dobrym i działającym po zepsuciu; usuwać usterkę ↩︎
12. ranny
    taki, który ma obrażenia ciała po wypadku lub ataku ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What kinds of damage did the strong storms cause in many regions of Poland?

Question 2: Why did many people in Poland not have electricity during Easter?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
burza  (f.)	thunderstorm
region  (m.)	region
uszkodzony	damaged
energetyczny	energy (related)
strażak  (m.)	firefighter
wezwanie  (n.)	call-out / summons

Read the full story

Powerful storms and gale‑force winds swept across Poland over the Easter period, particularly on Easter Monday, causing extensive disruption from the Baltic coast to the country’s south‑eastern borders. Fire services reported thousands of emergency call‑outs, mainly to clear fallen trees, secure damaged roofs and assist after electricity failures.

According to the State Fire Service (Państwowa Straż Pożarna), firefighters carried out over 3,000 interventions in one day. Most incidents involved broken branches, uprooted trees and torn roofing on residential and farm buildings. The storms coincided with a busy holiday period, but despite the scale of the damage, serious injuries were relatively rare.

The Lublin region (Lubelszczyzna) was among the hardest hit. In just a few hours, firefighters there responded to more than 400–500 weather‑related incidents. They removed around hundreds of fallen trees and branches and secured dozens of damaged roofs. On one hospital building in Międzyrzec Podlaski, part of the metal roof covering was torn off and fell into the courtyard. Hospital authorities reported that the wing was under renovation and no patients were inside at the time.

Strong winds also brought problems for the electricity network in eastern Poland. In the Lublin region, in the worst phase, more than 20,000 customers were left without power after overhead lines were damaged. In one incident near Bobrowniki, a man received an electric shock when he touched a fence on which a fallen power line was hanging; he was conscious when taken to hospital.

On the Baltic coast and in northern districts, the storms were driven by very strong gusts of wind. In areas of the Pomeranian and West Pomeranian voivodeships, the wind reached 85–95 km/h. Energy company representatives reported that at one point around 8,000–10,000 consumers in the north were without electricity, particularly near Wejherowo, Tczew, Kartuzy and Białogard. Hundreds of transformer stations went out of service before repair teams gradually restored supply.

Firefighters in the coastal regions recorded over 200–300 interventions across several days. Most actions focused on clearing roads and railway lines blocked by trees. Near Bieszkowice in the Wejherowo district, a tree crashed onto a passenger car; no one was injured. In Korzybie in the Słupsk area, another tree fell onto a railway line, temporarily halting a regional train until the track was cleared. In the town of Tczew, the wind damaged one of the blades of a 19th‑century windmill, prompting emergency measures to secure the historic structure.

The Łódź region in central Poland also experienced significant damage. Fire brigades there were called out more than 120 times, mainly to remove wind‑thrown trees. In Łódź itself, a falling branch hit a delivery‑van driver, causing head injuries described as not life‑threatening. In surrounding counties, at least three roofs on farm buildings were reported damaged by the gusts.

Further south‑east, in the Subcarpathian (Podkarpackie) region, firefighters reported more than 100–200 weather‑related call‑outs over the Easter holiday. Their work focused on clearing roads, pavements and private properties of fallen trees and branches, and on securing several damaged roofs on houses and farm buildings. Energy suppliers said that in this region, too, thousands of customers temporarily lost power due to damaged lines and non‑operational transformer stations, especially near Krosno, Stalowa Wola and Sanok.

In the Świętokrzyskie region (around the city of Kielce), emergency services recorded dozens of incidents linked to gusty winds and storms. Firefighters removed many fallen trees and dealt with damage to buildings and power lines. At the railway station in Starachowice, part of the roof covering – about fifteen square metres – was torn away. In Dziewięczyce, an overhead power line was broken, while in a care home in Kamienna Wola, two people were briefly trapped in a lift after a power failure before being safely freed.

The unstable weather also brought short but intense storms and hail to some areas. In towns such as Suchedniów and Łódź, residents reported heavy showers of hail and graupel on Easter Monday. Weather observers noted that in places like Zamość in eastern Poland, the most powerful gusts locally exceeded 100 km/h, linked to convective storm cells passing over the region.

The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) had issued a broad set of weather warnings ahead of the holiday. Alerts for strong wind covered up to twelve voivodeships, from the north‑west to the south‑east of the country. In coastal and northern districts, warnings of second‑degree intensity were in force, predicting gusts near 85–95 km/h. Parts of eastern and central Poland, including regions around Lublin, Kielce, Rzeszów and Warsaw, were placed under first‑degree wind alerts, with expected gusts up to about 85 km/h.

IMGW forecasts for Easter Sunday and Monday had already pointed to a mix of sunny spells, showers, thunderstorms and strong winds. Temperatures remained relatively mild in the south but cooler near the Baltic coast, where the strongest gusts were expected. As the cold front crossed the country, forecasters also warned of night‑time ground frosts in parts of northern and central Poland and of heavy melting of snow cover in the mountain areas of the south due to a short‑term rise in temperatures.

Alongside the forecasts, national and regional authorities issued safety recommendations. The State Fire Service and the Government Security Centre (Rządowe Centrum Bezpieczeństwa) advised residents to stay indoors during the strongest winds, avoid standing under trees or light structures such as bus shelters, and secure loose objects on balconies and in gardens that could become airborne. Drivers were urged to reduce speed, avoid forested and densely built‑up stretches of road during gusts, and to be especially cautious of falling branches or debris.

For people caught outdoors on lakes or rivers, emergency services reminded the public to leave small boats and other watercraft and seek shelter on shore if a storm approaches. They also underlined the danger of lightning strikes, noting that sheltering under isolated trees or remaining on open ground significantly increases risk.

By the day after Easter Monday, weather conditions had gradually started to improve in many regions. Most power cuts were repaired, and roads and railway lines were reopened after tree removal. However, fire and energy services continued work to fully restore infrastructure and assess longer‑term damage to buildings, public facilities and transport networks across Poland.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school dedicated to teaching Polish, where you can learn Polish online through various types of structured courses.