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Powerful hailstorm floods buildings and streets in Gniezno

A hailstorm left streets in the western Polish city of Gniezno flooded on Monday (May 20) as storms passed over the country.

TVN24 footage showed vehicles and people passing through the flooded streets and hailstones floating on the surface of the waters.

"Today, a powerful storm with hail hit Gniezno, as a result of which quite a lot of properties and streets were flooded," a firefighter told TVN24.

"Firefighters are on duty almost all the time, many crews were brought to the city to help with interventions."

At one location in the city, a woman was trapped in her car by the floodwaters and was freed by a bystander who then needed to be helped himself. They held onto the car until they could be rescued, the firefighter added.

Kamila Kozłowska of State Fire Service in Gniezno told PAP that they received over 200 calls by 3 p.m. She added that it would definitely take at least several hours to repair damage caused by the hailstorm, especially since more calls were coming in.

There were also at least 50 calls from outside the city of Gniezno.

According to Kozłowska, the calls pertained mainly to flooded residential and public buildings, but also a hospital, city administration offices, schools as well as a police station.

Torn off roofs were also reported.

Poland's weather agency described the storms as "violent" and they would continue into Tuesday (May 21) with areas of the country's west and south-east particularly affected by hail, heavy rain and strong winds. 

TVN24 News in English