Amid the thaw, icicles start forming on roofs, often hanging dangerously over streets. Vilnius City Municipality says that it is not responsible for knocking down icicles and residents should report them to their building administration companies.
Eugenija complains that every year icicles hang from her apartment building in Vilnius and no one takes care to remove them. The authorities, she says, do not respond to her reports.
Icicles usually form on leaky rain gutters. In Vilnius, this mostly happens in the older part of the city.
“The roof has not been repaired for a long time and every winter [icicles form]. Every evening I try to knock them down,” says Eugenija who lives in the Žvėrynas area.
Other Vilnius residents have also complained about icicles on roofs, which pose a danger to people and cars, mainly in Vilnius Old Town and the Naujamiestis area.
“I have seen a lot of icicles in the city. I have no idea whom to call, but I would like to know,” says a Vilnius resident interviewed by LRT TV.
Representatives of the Vilnius City Housing Administration say that they have received many calls from residents in recent days about snow and icicles falling from their roofs, but claim that it is not their responsibility.
“In all cases, the maintenance of buildings is the responsibility of the owner or the occupier. In the case of apartment buildings, each has a manager, either a management company or a residents’ association,” explains Marius Brigmanas, a representative of Vilnius City Municipality.
Representatives of Mano Būstas, the company that manages most of apartment buildings in Vilnius, say that residents should take care to report icicles as soon as possible.
“In the case of big cities – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda – it’s impossible to go round all the houses and check within an hour. [...] We receive dozens of such calls. We get it from residents, and proactively, our specialists, our workers go around and check,” says Paulius Ugianskis, spokesman for Mano Būstas.
The insurance company Lietuvos Draudimas says it has received more than 14 reports of property damaged by snow and icicles this week. The damaged property was mostly buildings, gazebos and cars. Insurers recommend not to park near buildings and to observe warning signs.
“When there is a thaw, snow absorbs moisture from the environment and can become up to nine times heavier. So you may have the same 20-30 centimetre layer of snow, but in different weather conditions it can have a different weight and it weighs down structures differently,” explains Mantas Norkus, spokesman for Lietuvos Draudimas.
If you are injured or find damage to your property, insurers recommend that you contact the owner of the building or the property management company for compensation.
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