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Severe Storm Batters Hungary, Biggest Power Outage in 30 Years

MTI-Hungary Today 2025.07.08.
Aerial photo shows storm-damaged shopping mall roof in Debrecen on July 7, 2025

Due to Monday’s storm, around 2,200 firefighters were called out by early evening, mainly in Bács-Kiskun, Békés, Csongrád-Csanád, Hajdú-Bihar, Pest, and Veszprém counties, as well as in Budapest, stated Dániel Mukics, spokesperson for the National Directorate General for Disaster Management.

In most cases, fallen trees and broken branches were removed from roads, buildings, railroad tracks, and cars. Several buildings were damaged or left without power in the largest power outage of the past three decades. In Budapest, for example, a tree fell on a transformer station on Margaret Island, and the wind tore off 100 square meters of the roof of the National Széchényi Library.

Four hundred emergency calls were received in Csongrád-Csanád County, mainly from Szeged and Hódmezővásárhely (both in southeastern Hungary). In Fejér County, the most damage was in Székesfehérvár (central Hungary) and the surrounding area, where a tree fell on railway tracks and tore down the overhead power lines. A high-voltage power line broke next to the M7 motorway, causing a fire and traffic disruption.

Two hundred and fifty reports were received in Bács-Kiskun County, where trees fell on houses in several places and the wind damaged a roof structure in Soltszentimre (southern Hungary). Nearly 300 reports were registered in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, with power outages and road obstructions in several towns. Firefighters are working continuously to repair the damage.

“Today, a powerful and widespread storm has hit Hungary. The most significant damage occurred in northern Hungary, around Lake Balaton, in the Buda agglomeration and in the Great Plain. Hundreds of thousands of households are currently without power,” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on his Facebook page on Monday evening.

The prime minister emphasized that they had been in contact with the leaders involved in the restoration efforts throughout the evening. “Disaster management, firefighters, MÁV (national railway), Magyar Közút (Hungarian Public Roads), and employees of companies responsible for power supply will be working throughout the night and tomorrow to remove roadblocks as quickly as possible, restore public services, and ensure that public transport can resume,” said Viktor Orbán.

Weather-Warning Issued due to Severe Thunderstorms
Weather-Warning Issued due to Severe Thunderstorms

Severe thunderstorms are expected in the coming hours, with lightning, strong winds, and hailstorms posing a risk.Continue reading

Via MTI; Featured photo: MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt


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