Firefighters said they had been called out more than 6,200 times by 11 a.m. to deal with the aftermath of gales in various regions across the country.
Powerful winds wreaked havoc in the western region of Wielkopolskie, the northwestern province of Zachodniopomorskie, and Dolnośląskie province in the southwest, Karol Kierzkowski, a spokesman for the State Fire Service, told reporters.
The gales also left a trail of destruction in the west-central region of Lubuskie, he said.
He told the media that the winds had destroyed the roofs of more than 500 buildings nationwide.
In Dobrzyca, a small town in west-central Poland, an apparent twister damaged around 40 buildings, including more than a dozen homes, state news agency PAP reported.
Buildings damaged by an apparent twister in Dobrzyca, a small town in west-central Poland. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Wojtasik
More than 324,000 customers were left without electricity at one point after power lines were damaged in various areas of the country, the Government Centre for Security (RCB) reported.
A 70-year-old man died in the western town of Międzyrzecz after a car in which he was traveling was crushed by a falling tree.
A woman was injured in similar circumstances in Tomaszowice near the eastern city of Lublin, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
In another incident caused by the extreme weather, two construction workers were killed and two others injured after a 30-metre crane collapsed in the southern city of Kraków on Thursday morning, officials told reporters.
Police were investigating the incident, the PAP news agency reported.
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Source: IAR, PAP