Gale-force winds in Moscow and the surrounding area Tuesday night put about 300 transformers out of commission and knocked down almost 300 trees, with at least five people sustaining injuries.
Winds that reached 17 meters per second in speed, or those equivalent to the lowest category of hurricane, began blowing in Moscow and the Moscow region Tuesday afternoon, striking the eastern and southern sections of the region hardest, Moscow Unified Electric Company spokesman Vitaly Strugovets told Interfax.
About 1 percent of all the electric company's transformers, or roughly 300, were taken offline, leaving hundreds of Moscow region residents without electricity overnight, Strugovets said. By 7 a.m. Wednesday, power was restored in all residential areas, he said.
About 280 trees were felled by the winds and 27 cars were damaged, Interfax reported. The news agency said five people were hospitalized with injuries received as a result of accidents caused by the strong gusts, which had died down by Wednesday morning.
