The storm that struck on Saturday, 22 August, became a severe stress test for Latvia’s critical infrastructure. By Sunday morning, around one in three households was without electricity due to storm damage. The power outages also affected mobile communications infrastructure and the operation of base stations, leaving tens of thousands of residents without internet access and mobile services.
Following the destruction caused by the storm, it is important not only to deal with the immediate consequences but also to conduct a detailed assessment of this real-life stress test of Latvia’s critical infrastructure: what stopped working, how quickly it failed, and how long each essential service could continue operating if the power outage lasted not just a few hours but several days. The ability of communications networks and other critical systems to operate autonomously during a widespread power outage could prove crucial not only during natural disasters but also in the event of targeted sabotage or another geopolitical threat.
Alongside fallen trees, flooded streets and traffic chaos, power disruptions affected around 277,000 customers at their peak, while problems in the electricity network also had an impact on mobile communications infrastructure. Bite reported around 200 base stations without centralised power supply, while LMT said disruptions affected around 3% of its customer connections. Given LMT’s 1.554 million connections, this means approximately 46,600 connections were affected.
Tele2 also acknowledged problems with the operation of its base stations. The company has not yet disclosed the number of affected customers or base stations. However, the operator confirmed that some base stations were not functioning due to power outages. Batteries and generators are being used, but access to several stations has been hampered by fallen trees and flooded areas. Although mobile communications base stations are equipped with batteries and, in some cases, generators, backup capacity is not unlimited during a prolonged and widespread power outage.
The storm affected not only local distribution lines but also Latvia’s electricity transmission network. Operations were disrupted at 46 of more than 150 Augstsprieguma tīkls (AST) substations, while five 330-kilovolt lines were damaged and 44 110-kilovolt lines were affected.
The severe weather also claimed a life. According to the Emergency Medical Service, 14 people required medical assistance, while one person died in Jelgava after part of a building collapsed.
By seven o’clock on Sunday morning, rescue services had received 1,876 reports of storm-related damage – more than during several days of the major summer storms of 2024. Most calls concerned fallen trees blocking roads, crashing onto buildings and vehicles, and damaging power lines.
Rail services were also severely disrupted. On Sunday, train traffic was suspended or restricted on several routes, with cancellations and delays lasting several hours. Even by midday, services had not been fully restored on a number of sections.
The prolonged rainfall also exposed the inability of stormwater drainage systems to cope with extreme precipitation. By Saturday, some areas had already received roughly half of their normal monthly rainfall, flooding streets and low-lying areas.
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