Updated 20:15 | Published 20:06
Torrential rain is expected during the evening and this weekend in several places in southern Sweden.
The emergency services see an increased risk of sinkholes and landslides.
– The ground is undermined, perhaps to a greater extent than before, says Niklas Bruhn, emergency manager at Rädningsjänstän RiS.
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SMHI has issued orange and yellow warnings for large parts of central Sweden during the weekend.
Heavy downpours are expected in several places during the evening. The situation is worst in Svealand, southernmost Norrland and parts of Götaland.
Risk of sinkholes and landslides
– So far we have not seen the rain in the white eye, says Niklas Bruhn, emergency commander at the rescue service RiS.
The rescue service RiS is a collaboration between municipalities in Dalarna, Gästrikland and Hälsingland where rain is expected during the evening.
Niklas Bruhn says that they keep a close eye on SMHI’s weather forecast. How it moves and where it rains. In Hudiksvall, barriers have been set up in the most vulnerable places. They have also strengthened themselves with both personnel and materials in the form of, among other things, pumps and sandbags.
He also says that the ground is undermined from the summer’s earlier rains.
– Sinkholes have formed in the past and dragged masses of soil and gravel with them, and it is something we are aware of that there is a risk of now as well.
– Perhaps to a greater extent than before, says Bruhn.
Niklas Bruhn urges private individuals to be extra careful.
– You should remember to be careful when you are out driving a car or walking in the areas that are exposed. There may be areas that you don’t suspect are exposed, it can happen in any case that things collapse or things happen in nature.
There may be up to 30 millimeters of rain
– During the beginning of the evening, the southern part of the warning in Götaland will continue to apply. Late in the evening, the showers move north from Götaland, says Niklas Einevik, meteorologist at SMHI.
– After that during the night, it is mainly the southern Norrland coast, Gävleborg up towards Västernorrland later that will have the most intense rainfall, but the risk of torrential rain, says Einevik.
According to SMHI, it is difficult to know exactly how much rain is expected.
– As always with torrential rain, it is very difficult to judge. Most can come between 20-30 millimeters locally, he says.
Although the downpour-like rain is moving north in a weakened state, Niklas Einevik sees no clearing in sight for when the weather will be good again. He expects that we will have unstable weather right into the beginning of September.
– We see no weather stabilization in the foreseeable future. It continues to bring in new showers over Sunday and Monday. New rainy weather is expected during the next week. We continue to be in an unstable period.
Flood warning
During Saturday afternoon, many people called the emergency services about floods in the Vara and Likdöping tracts, reports P4 Skaraborg.
The calls started coming in around 5 p.m. and after an hour and a half, over 40 people had called in about water damage and flooding in buildings.
Even in Gothenburg’s archipelago, alarms have come in again and again water damage in housing. The rescue service has been on site at about ten addresses on Hönö and Öckerö.
The basement of a church on Öckerö has been filled with water, according to P4 Gothenburgwhich the emergency services are pumping out in this now.