On Saturday afternoon, September 14, 2024, residents of Mazovia faced a uncommon but dangerous atmospheric phenomenon. The air trumpet passed through the municipality of Jedlinsk in Radom County, causing crucial damage. Another tornado formation struck 2 hours later in Kodenicki County, destroying property in respective towns.
Warnings and Effects of Disaster
The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) warned from early morning hours about possible air trumpets, and the forecasts unfortunately proved to be tragically accurate. The air horn that passed through Jedlinsk devastated the roofs of buildings and destroyed many houses. The Local Fire Department, under the command of Brig. Karol Krocia, received as many as 10 reports of harm in a comparatively tiny area.
Fortunately, no fatalities or injuries have been reported so far. However, material harm is serious. The trumpet reached a strength of 1.5 on the Fujita scale, which corresponds to winds about 180 km/h, which makes this phenomenon not only uncommon but besides peculiarly dangerous.
Description of the damage
According to eyewitness accounts, villages specified as Wierzchowina, Urbanów, Kruszyn and God’s Will were most affected. Witness accounts are shocking — Marcin Kucewicz, a photojournalist who was there, described the scenes as from a disaster film: “I saw immense roofs flying over the 3rd floor, these were neighbors’ homes. The sheet bent like a sheet of paper.” Not only roofs, but besides cars, garages and fences were destroyed. dense rainfall, which occurred just after the trumpet passed, additionally flooded many houses, including the recently renovated ones.
Residents and Services Response
Local services immediately took rescue and safety measures. Firefighters on site rapidly took action to safe property and remove threats. Local authorities have made ad hoc aid available to victims and failure assessment is ongoing in the region. In specified situations, however, the safety of residents who gotta face trauma and rebuild their homes is the most important.
Air trumpets in Poland are rare, but climate change makes utmost atmospheric phenomena increasingly common. It is so crucial that citizens be aware of the risks and be able to respond appropriately to emergencies.
How to prepare for utmost atmospheric events?
The increase in the occurrence of air trumpets and another utmost atmospheric phenomena, specified as storms or floods, shows how crucial it is to prepare for specified threats. Here are any tips that can help:
- Always follow the weather warnings issued by IMGW.
- Secure your home, especially the roof and windows, before possible damage.
- Prepare an emergency kitwhere you should find a flashlight, batteries, radio and essential medications.
- Set an escape plan for your household if necessary.
The phenomena specified as air trumpets are uncommon in Poland, but their impact on the lives of residents can be tragic. The blows of the Mazowsze air trumpets are painful proof of this. It will take months to rebuild the destroyed houses and infrastructure, but most importantly, no 1 was killed. Let us hope that thanks to the ever-better weather forecasts and the informed consequence of the inhabitants, losses will be minimised in the future.
More here:
Two blizzards of air on Mazowsz. Resident reactions
