The most significant damage caused by the storm in Latvia’s state forests could take four months to clear, provided weather conditions do not deteriorate, according to Latvijas valsts meži (LVM).
According to preliminary estimates, the volume of trees damaged in state forests during last weekend’s storm could exceed one hundred thousand cubic metres.
The current priority is to clear roads and remove dangerous trees. Heavy rainfall, including high water levels in ditches and waterlogged soil, is restricting and complicating access for forestry machinery. Therefore, work is initially being carried out in areas that can be physically accessed and where machinery can operate, LVM said.
The damage is highly uneven, with individual trees mostly brought down across a wide area rather than large continuous areas of forest being destroyed. Fallen trees are particularly noticeable along forest edges, field boundaries and roads.
Most of the trees uprooted or broken by the storm are large trees,
predominantly deciduous species, including aspen, birch and goat willow, as well as trees with timber defects. Damaged forest stands have mainly been identified on wet soils, while less damage has been recorded in areas with well-functioning drainage systems capable of removing excess water.
LVM has begun using remote sensing data from Sentinel-1 satellites to identify damage in areas where forest destruction is concentrated. Damage maps will subsequently be created and used as a geospatial information layer within the LVM GEO system.
Maps of the damaged areas will be available alongside other forest management information,
allowing the data to be analysed within a unified information environment.
According to LVM, this information will help identify more quickly the areas requiring additional inspections, field surveys and forestry work planning. The maps will serve as a decision-making tool and help improve monitoring of changes in forest conditions across large areas.
As BNN previously reported, Latvia was hit by one of its strongest summer storms in decades on Saturday, the 22nd of August, and during the night into Sunday, with wind gusts exceeding thirty metres per second in some areas. The severe storm caused widespread damage to both electricity distribution and transmission networks, initially leaving around two hundred and seventy-seven thousand customers across Latvia without power.
In many areas, the power outages were followed by disruptions to communications, petrol stations were unable to operate, and shops were also inaccessible in some locations.
Read also: Storm disrupted one in five ATMs in Latvia – residents urged to keep cash on hand