International scales describing the intensity of tornadoes are investigated along with reports from the Polish Government Security Centre on all types of wind storms in Poland. Then, collected tornado reports for the years 1899–2019 in Poland, a set of the annual maximum gust wind speeds measured at 39 meteorological stations from 1971 to 2005 (35 years), descriptions of Poland’s strongest wind storms in the 21st century, estimating the risk of significant strong and extreme winds in Poland, and classification of maximum wind speeds by Lorenc (2012) are presented. Based on these data, i.e. measured and estimated wind speeds, this paper proposes two separate intensity scales to categorize synoptic, thunderstorm, and downslope winds (in the Tatra and Karkonosze regions), derechos, tornadoes, and downbursts, i.e. all types of wind storms. These scales are simpler than the one put forward by Lorenc (2012). These two scales cover a range of maximum wind speeds from 20 to 90 m/s. This proposal is only applicable to Poland. Other countries may determine whether it applies to them.

In June 2021, a tornado struck a large area in southern Moravia, causing extensive damage to property owned by individuals and legal entities. A need thus arose to speed up the process of estimating the amount of insurance indemnity. This process involved local inspections and subsequent assessment of quotations from construction companies for repairs, as the adjusters did not have the time and resources to estimate the amount of damage using the usual method, i.e. an itemised budget containing a list of works, supplies and services necessary to restore a structure to its original condition based on an on-site inspection. This article contains a retrospective analysis of the accepted quotations and evaluates differences in terms of scope and price compared to the standard procedure. Four apartment buildings were selected for assessment of the insulation and roof repairs. The results show that there are clear discrepancies between the price as determined by the itemised budget using the usual prices and the construction companies’ quotations. The analysis of the selected buildings has indicated that the quotations can by no means be accepted without first establishing the total damage and its actual scope. Major damage caused by a natural disaster will still have to be estimated on the basis of a personal inspection of the damaged property and preparation of an itemised budget created in line with the applicable pricing system.