A third person has died in Sweden following a powerful winter storm, nicknamed Storm Johannes, which has swept across Nordic countries, causing travel disruption and power outages.
Sweden's meteorological agency issued alerts for strong winds affecting large parts of the northern half of the country as Storm Johannes made its impact. Reports indicate that one man in his 50s lost his life after being hit by a tree at the Kungsberget ski resort in southern Sweden. Additionally, one employee from a regional utility company died while performing his duties in hazardous conditions.
Meanwhile, police reported that another man in his 60s was critically injured by a falling tree while working in the woods in Hofors and later succumbed to his injuries.
In total, chaos across the region saw tens of thousands without power. In Sweden, over 40,000 homes experienced outages while numerous rail services were canceled, according to reports from the Swedish news agency TT.
Cancellation of flights, rail, and ferry services has been widespread as the storm continues to disrupt usual operations. In Norway's Nordland region, emergency responders managed over 200 weather-related incidents, highlighting the storm's severity.
Storm Johannes has also impacted Finland, known there as Hannes, where more than 60,000 homes were affected by outages. The storm grounded flights at Kittila airport in northern Finland as fierce winds caused aircrafts to veer off the runway into snowbanks, thankfully with no injuries reported.
