1 / 3Photo: Sofia Eriksson/TT
– There are floods everywhere. Water flows over roads. Roads are washed away.
That’s what farmer Håkan Johansson says in Sala, who was hit hard by the heavy rain.
Johansson is a board member of LRF Mälardalen with preparedness and care issues as areas of responsibility. He is out to get a situational picture of the devastation that the high flows have brought with them.
– I am in the process of scanning whether there are any animals with our colleagues that would need to be evacuated, that are out grazing and do not “come ashore”.
– I just drove through a small community here and everyone was trying to save their houses. There is water up to the stairs, he continues.
There is no capacity
Sala announced earlier that there is flooding in the entire municipality’s water and sewage system.
There are reports of 100 millimeters of rain in one day, according to Johansson. SMHI has issued a yellow warning for high flows in Västmanland and Norra Uppland until Tuesday.
TT: Is Sala municipality well prepared for this?
– I hope so. We are neither better nor worse than anyone else. When such quantities arrive, there is no capacity, says Johansson.
Bridges are at risk of being blocked
The high flows also cause major problems in Västerås. And Johan Ahlström, risk engineer in the city of Västerås, estimates that there will be more water.
– We haven’t seen this much water in Svartån in 36 years, he says.
Ahlström says that it could become very critical for many properties along the Svartån. About sixty holiday homes in Biskopsängen are already under water.
– They also risk floating out into Svartån. Then we get a risk picture that they will come down to our bridges and there will be damming and we will get new flood areas.
Now the city is working to deploy flood barriers where possible, to be prepared to clear rubble and warn property owners of even higher water levels.