10 July, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. More than 140 settlements in the Vitebsk region have been affected by strong winds, Marina Fando, press secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, told a BELTA correspondent. Yesterday afternoon, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, strong winds with gusts of up to 15 meters per second swept through the Vitebsk, Liozno, Miory, Postavy, Ushachi, Tolochin, Verkhnedvinsk, Beshenkovichi, and Senno districts. In most of these areas, trees were felled onto roadways and private properties by the elements, and their removal was carried out by emergency services personnel. For instance, in the Vitebsk district, roofs of one livestock farm and seven residential houses were damaged; in the Liozno district, three residential houses, three livestock farms, three warehouses, and a kindergarten were affected. There were no casualties. According to Vitebskenergo, a total of 19 power lines, 43 transformer substations, 143 settlements, and 12 farms were disconnected in the Vitebsk region. As of 6:00 AM, power supply had not been restored to 8 power lines, 31 transformer substations, 20 settlements, and 1 farm. To restore power supply, 15 emergency crews from Vitebskenergo (15 units of equipment, 50 personnel) have been deployed. -0-

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