A windstorm in the High Tatra mountains has been breaking trees, ripping off roofs and warping billboards since Thursday, with firefighters recommending drivers in the mountain area leave their cars at home.
Several roads in the High Tatras were closed due to fallen trees. All firefighters and their equipment in the area were deployed to tackle the effects of the gale, the head of firefighters in the Poprad district Ondrej Sproch told TASR. The firefighters even had to withdraw from the area of the mountain settlement of Vyšné Hágy due to the strong winds which were deemed life-threatening. “Nobody had been left stuck up there ... so we stopped our works in the area in order to prevent injuries and damage to our equipment”, said Sproch, while calling on the public to be patient. “The people who are calling us about their roofs having been ripped off, must be patient, because we can neither slide out stepladders nor erect platforms at the moment. We’ll help everyone once the situation calms down”, added Sproch.
