Red Weather Warning In Sweden Where Some Regions Could Receive A Month’s Rain In One Day

HEAVY rains have caused serious flooding and other problems in Central Sweden this Saturday, September 2.

The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) had issued warnings of heavy downpours for today. Eastern Dalarna and parts of Gästrikland were at risk they indicated, regions which have already received extensive rain in recent weeks.

Furthermore, SMHI warned of persistent rain in several parts of the already hard-hit south-eastern Norrland.

A band of low pressure has settled over most of Gävleborg County, as well as parts of Västmanland County, Uppsala County and Dalarna County, where up to 70 mm of rain could fall according to the SMHI.

An entire month’s rainfall in one day

Therese Fougman, a meteorologist at SMHI commented: ‘You are up and sniffing the entire month’s rainfall in one day’.

In Västerås, local media outlets carried reports about flooded roads and basements. Johan Ahlström, a risk engineer in the central Swedish city said that the authorities were trying to set up flood barriers to reduce the risk of more floods. He pointed out that they have not seen so much water in Svartån for several decades.

Bengt Olsson, the press manager at the Swedish Transport Administration reported that train traffic between Västerås and Örebro had been halted due to the rainy weather, according to aftonbladet.se.

He explained: ‘This is because water flows over the tracks and in the embankment. We have tried to pump out water but new water keeps coming. Right now there is no forecast for the train stop – it depends on the weather. We have to deal with how the situation looks now’.

Trains have also been brought to a halt

Train traffic between Västerås and Kolbäck/Köping, between Västerås and Ängelsberg, and between Uppsala and Sala is also at a standstill due to flooding. Traffic can resume between Sunday and Monday, according to the Swedish Transport Agency’s forecasts.

In Heby municipality, the authorities warned of high flows in the treatment plants, with the municipality’s residents being urged not to flush the toilet, as reported by Expressen.

‘This makes the daily and wastewater system difficult to use. For example, you cannot flush your toilet as the water runs out onto the floor. There is no danger with our drinking water and you can drink it as usual’, the municipality announced on its website.

Heby AIF’s artificial turf has been turned into a lake. A football match was supposed to be played on Saturday, but when one of the club’s officials went there to check, he was met by one and a half metres of water covering the field. People had to go out in rowing boats to get to the buildings.

‘We have tried to save important things that are not underwater, such as computers. Otherwise, you just have to wait. But unfortunately, it is still rising’, Ann-Sofie Pasalic Nilsebo from Heby AIF informed UNT.

A tweet from Rasmus Leijdström @Leijdstrom showed the full extent of the flooding. He tweeted: ‘There are of course bigger problems in the world, but it hurts to see what the rain of the last few days has done to local football facilities. It’s tough as it is for small associations, this will leave a mark where I mainly suffer with Heby AIF. We’ll learn to help the hell out of this with the gang’.

Det finns såklart större problem i världen men det gör ont att se vad senaste dagarnas regn har gjort mot lokala fotbollsanläggningar.
Det är tufft som det är för små föreningar, det här kommer sätta spår där jag främst lider med Heby AIF.
Det här lär vi fan hjälpas åt med gänget pic.twitter.com/bdPGRohynq

— Rasmus Leijdström (@Leijdstrom) September 2, 2023

Collapsed roads and sinkholes could cause problems

Also in Sala, the Swedish Transport Administration has warned of collapsed roads and sinkholes, reported SVT Nyheter. Bengt Olsson explained: ‘That risk exists right now, especially around Sala. Water has not only come from above and from the side there, it has also come from below’.

Burst water pipes could also worsen road safety he added: ‘Then the whole road is undermined and things like that have to be solved before you let traffic go at a place like that’.

Several roads have also been flooded

According to the Swedish Transport Administration, several roads are flooded, which affects accessibility, the floods also affected traffic in Västmanland.

SMHI stated that the previous episodes of heavy rain had resulted in high flows and water-saturated ground today. The weather warnings apply until further notice, but the rain is expected to ease off during the day they indicated. There could be a flurry of late summer next week as the situation looks to turn around added the SMHI.