Strong storm triggers massive power cuts in Finland during holiday

A strong storm hit Finland on Monday, cutting off power for nearly 300,000 households in western, southern and southwestern regions of the country. With high winds falling trees onto power lines, roads and rail tracks,the storm was the strongest one since 2004, Finnish media reported. Repair work has been underway since early morning, but power companies Fortum and Vattenfall said restoration of power supplies could take days. Massive power cuts affected base stations of the cellular phone network, especially in western and southwestern Finland. Some radio and TV services were also cut for short periods in some areas. The storm also caused problems for rail traffic. Train traffic was suspended in some places and trains on the Helsinki mainline were running up to half an hour late. By late afternoon, the storm had moved into Russia and the winds were gradually weakening. A new area of low pressure complete with fresh high winds will reach Finland from the west on Tuesday, according to the forecast.