The strong wind that swept through Skopje last night hit the Karpoš municipality hardest - trees down across streets and squares, a power cable brought down, and one injured resident. According to eyewitnesses, in the park on „Jurij Gagarin“ street in Kozle, a tree snapped in the wind and „in one second collapsed onto the woman“ - an 88-year-old grandmother who had been sitting in the park.

Fortunately, the injury wasn't serious. The woman stayed conscious, with a light injury to her arm, and people from the park and the nearby children's playground helped her at once until the ambulance arrived. It could have ended far worse - and that „could have been worse“ is the whole point of the story.

The municipal crews reacted fast: they cleared the fallen trees on „Jurij Gagarin“, „Dragiša Mišović“ and the „Delfina“ square, and removed the downed cable on „Kairska“ no. 43. The municipality's message is that there's no longer any danger to residents. The response was solid - but the response always comes after the tree has already fallen.

The question no wind asks on our behalf is this: how many of the old trees in Skopje's parks are actually checked before they snap? A single storm reveals how urban greenery - which we love and genuinely need - can turn into a threat when it isn't maintained. The trees aren't the problem; they're the city's ornament. The problem is whether anyone looks at them before the storm, or only after one comes down on an 88-year-old woman.