More than 20 crews are restoring power supply disrupted by Hurricane Nicholas in the Vitebsk region

February 8, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Repair crews of the Vitebsk Republican Unitary Enterprise of Electric Power Industry "Vitebskenergo" will be working throughout the night to eliminate the consequences of the hurricane "Nicholas" raging in the region, Deputy General Director of "Vitebskenergo" Igor Gritskevich told a BELTA correspondent. The first signals of power outages began to arrive at the power grids' dispatch service today after 3:00 PM. Currently, 44 settlements in the Vitebsk region remain without power supply, according to operational data, and 97 transformer substations are disconnected. 23 repair crews and 23 units of equipment are involved in eliminating the consequences. The elements continue to rage in the northern region, so energy workers do not rule out that the number of de-energized settlements may increase. According to the Vitebsk Regional Emergency Situations Department, "Nicholas" caused the greatest damage to the Postavsky, Lepelsky, and Dokshitsky districts; the Beshenkovichsky, Verkhnedvinsky, Gorodoksky, Miorsky, and Ushachsky districts were also affected. Due to the fact that strong winds are predicted in the coming day mainly in the north and northwest of the republic, the Ministry of Emergency Situations recommends residents of these regions to stay at home if possible, move cars to a safe place, and take other necessary precautions. As reported, an active cyclone, which German meteorologists named "Nicholas," became the cause of unrest in many countries of Northern and Central Europe. The cyclonic vortex, which originated on Monday over the Eastern Atlantic, moved eastward at a speed of 100 km/h, and its center was already located over Sweden this morning. At the same time, in the southern Baltic Sea, the Danish Straits, northern Germany and Poland, and the coast of Lithuania and Latvia, the wind reached hurricane force. By midday, "Nicholas" approached the Gulf of Finland, and its atmospheric fronts brought precipitation in the form of wet snow and rain to Belarus and a sharp increase in wind speed up to 15-22 meters per second, and in some places - up to 25-27 meters per second. This weather will persist tonight. It will also be windy on Wednesday afternoon. Subsequently, following the cyclone moving towards Russia, cold air masses from the northern latitudes will rush into Belarus. Thus, "Nicholas" will open the way for a cold snap. -0-