More Storms Shook Hungary in Recent Days, Damages May Add up to Billions

During the weekend, a huge rainstorm hit Budapest and flooded the streets of the Hungarian capital and the countryside, even claiming a life. Since then, more heavy rainfall arrived suddenly with gusty winds, hail, and floods, also challenging the emergency services in many regions of Hungary and in Budapest. According to insurance companies, the damages of the storms in recent days may even add up to HUF 1.5 billion (EUR 4,3 million).

As we reported, the storm on Sunday lasted several hours, causing damage around the capital, including Nyugati square, Móricz Zsigmond circle, Árkád shopping center, and at IKEA near Örs Vezér square. A tree fell across Alkotmány Street, and several BKV services stopped intermittently. The storm damaged overhead lines and safety equipment of the railway as well.

Huge Storm Hit Budapest and Hungary Over the Weekend – Photo Gallery!

According to Aegon Insurance’s information which was released on Tuesday, the company received about 2,000 claims by Monday afternoon. According to the insurer, this could even double in the coming days, especially if the storms continue to hit the country. The value of claims could reach half a billion forints. The company added that while in the stormy periods at the beginning of the summer, the usual average value in damages is HUF 50-80,000. Yet after a more severe weather phenomenon like this past weekend, the storm caused HUF 200,000 in damages on average.

According to the reports of Groupama Insurance on Monday, more than 600 home insurance claims were received in connection with the Sunday storms, the value of which is close to HUF 100 million (EUR 289,000). The company expects further claims to be reported in the coming days, so the numbers could increase significantly, reaching up to HUF 500 million (EUR 1.4 million).

Since Sunday, other severe storms hit the country, with trees down in streets, damage to cars, and flooding in several basements and underpasses. The sudden rainfall and the high water levels also caused traffic problems around the country.

Kecskemét TV shared a video on its Facebook page showing why it is not a great idea to drive into a closed tunnel after heavy rainfalls. As described in the video, an Audi drove into an underpass on Wednesday that had to be closed due to heavy rainfall, because water had accumulated inside.

Back on Monday, the news stations had already reported that several people got stuck in the tunnel after 27 millimetres of rain fell on the city in a short time; there were even some cases in which firefighters had to rescue the drivers and the cars. According to the mayor of Kecskemét, the problem could only be solved with a project costing 3-4 billion forints, so that the water can be drained from the underpass.

Featured photo by Zsolt Czeglédi/MTI