An unexploded shell was discovered in the Dursupe area of Talsi Municipality after heavy rainfall washed away soil, according to Latvia’s National Armed Forces (NBS).
Following the discovery, a unit from the 54th Combat Support Battalion of the National Guard was dispatched to the scene and safely removed the shell to the battalion’s base.
The National Armed Forces confirmed that the area where the shell was found is now safe.
Severe flooding has also damaged collections belonging to the Talsi Regional Museum at two separate locations, the museum’s Head of Communications and Education and curator of exhibitions, Ziedīte Začeste, confirmed to the LETA news agency.
Part of the museum’s collection had been temporarily relocated to the Pastende Cultural Centre while renovation work is carried out on the museum’s main building in Talsi. A burst pipe at the temporary storage facility caused extensive water damage to objects stored there, including both catalogued museum artefacts and items that had not yet been formally added to the collection.
Začeste said it will take around two weeks before the full extent of the damage can be assessed,
once the affected items have dried.
“Only then will it be possible to determine which objects have been irreparably damaged and which can still be restored,” she said.
The museum has also experienced flooding at its collection storage facility on Kārļa Mīlenbaha Street in Talsi, where wooden artefacts were stored in the basement.
In that case, staff detected water infiltration early and immediately began moving the collection into the museum’s exhibition hall. As a result, the exhibition space and its current exhibition have been temporarily closed.
According to Začeste, the damage at the Talsi facility is significantly less severe because the leak was discovered quickly and most objects were only slightly affected. Their condition can only be properly evaluated after they have dried.
Following intense rainfall overnight from the 21st to the 22nd of July, the Dursupe mill pond dam burst
in Talsi Municipality, sending floodwaters into neighbouring Tukums Municipality and inundating a section of the Ezernieki–Jaunpļavas–Rindzele municipal road near the Dursupe bridge.
According to the municipality, floodwaters reached the area around 11 p.m. on the 21st of July, with water levels rising to 3.5 metres near the bridge and flooding the roadway.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation and urge motorists to exercise caution, obey road closures and use alternative routes where necessary.
Latvia’s State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) responded to two flood-related rescue calls in Talsi Municipality on Tuesday.
The first call was received at 12:16 a.m., when municipal police requested assistance evacuating residents from a flooded area in Ķūļciems Parish. Upon arrival, firefighters found that the residents had declined evacuation.
A second emergency call followed at 12:56 a.m., reporting that floodwaters had surrounded a residential property and cut off the access road. Firefighters used a rescue board to evacuate one person and a dog, transporting them safely to municipal police officers.
Neighbouring homes were also inspected, but no further evacuations were required.
More than 74 millimetres of rain fell in Talsi Municipality on Monday—just four millimetres short of the area’s average rainfall for the entire month.
The heavy downpours caused the Dursupe mill pond dam to fail, flooding nearby areas and washing away several roads, including sections of the regional Jūrmala–Talsi highway. Public buildings in Talsi and Pastende were also flooded.
As previously reported, two sections of state roads in the Talsi area remain closed after being flooded and severely damaged, according to Latvian State Roads (LVC).
Traffic has been diverted via alternative routes while repairs are planned.
Localised washouts have also been reported on several other roads around Talsi. Maintenance crews began repairing damaged gravel roads on Tuesday morning, but the destruction on the regional P128 road is too extensive for routine maintenance.
As a result, the road will remain closed while reconstruction work is organised.
Meteorologists have warned that northwestern Latvia could receive further heavy rainfall, increasing the risk of additional flooding and road damage.
LVC engineers continue inspecting affected roads to assess the full extent of the damage and estimate repair costs.
Officials warn that prolonged or intense rainfall can quickly erode gravel roads, road shoulders and drainage ditches, particularly in recently reconstructed areas where vegetation has not yet stabilised the soil. Heavy rain can also cause individual road sections and underpasses to flood.
Road maintenance crews are securing damaged areas and carrying out repairs where weather conditions allow. If heavy rainfall continues, work may have to wait until conditions improve. Damage occurring on roads currently under reconstruction will be repaired by the contractors responsible for those projects.
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