Storms lash Wielkopolska: over 500 interventions, teenage boy injured

Violent thunderstorms packing strong winds and torrential rain swept across the Wielkopolska region during the evening of 19 June and into the early hours of Saturday, 20 June. Firefighters scrambled to answer hundreds of calls, mainly for fallen trees blocking roads and water entering buildings.

Storm hits region

Thunderstorms developed rapidly on Friday evening, with the most intense activity affecting western counties including kościański, nowotomyski, międzychodzki, leszczyński and grodziski. By 9 p.m., the provincial fire service had logged 386 weather-related incidents, a figure that climbed to 454 by 6 a.m. Saturday and reached 555 by 8 a.m. Alerts of the second degree remain in force across the whole province today.

Incidents and injuries

The most serious single casualty was a 14-year-old boy in Leszno, trapped when a wind-toppled tree fell across Grunwaldzka Street. He was taken to hospital with an open fracture of the leg, the only injury reported across the region.

“The injured teenager suffered an open leg fracture.”

In Promnice, east of Poznań, lightning struck a semi-detached house shortly after 8 p.m., setting the roof space alight. Fire crews brought the blaze under control. In the Kościan district, a falling tree hit a car; the female driver escaped unhurt.

Flooding and disruption

Torrential rain overwhelmed drainage in Nowy Tomyśl, flooding the basement of the local hospital. The facility continued to operate normally and patient care was not affected. Organisers of the Antidotum air show at Leszno airport suspended the event and evacuated the public as the storm approached.

Emergency response

Firefighters from the międzychodzki district received reinforcements from a rescue platoon of the neighbouring szamotulski district to help pump water from flooded properties. The provincial spokesman stressed that the overwhelming majority of interventions involved clearing fallen branches and trees, with only a minority concerning inundated buildings.