Helsinki prepares for rising sea levels with sandbags

European winter storm disrupts traffic also at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

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Following a warning of a rise in the sea level issued by the Finnish Institute of Marine Research (FIMR) on Thursday, the authorities in the City of Helsinki increased their preparedness for preventing flooding, while water levels kept fluctuating in the Gulf of Finland.
      The FIMR forecast said that the sea water would reach 125 centimetres above the normal on Thursday.
      On Friday morning, the sea level had declined in all areas of Finland, with the water height being some +50 to +60 cm in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Archipelago Sea, and the Gulf of Finland.
      However, another surge is predicted for tonight, with the water levels rising about one metre above the normal again, reports researcher Antti Kangas from the FIMR.
     
Plastic-clad sandbags were used to protect properties in various parts of the city on Thursday. The City of Helsinki Rescue Department and 15 volunteer fire departments were called in to protect houses in Melakuja, in Helsinki's district of Vartioharju.
     
In the district of Laajasalo, the water had overflowed onto the road leading to the boat harbour. Volunteer firefighters were needed to pump the water away and to take the precaution of building embankments of sandbags and plastic in order to protect the properties in the area.
     
In addition to the Rescue Department, also the Public Works Department and Helsinki Water have on-duty personnel to receive alarm messages around-the-clock. Dozens of firefighters from the 15 volunteer fire departments are also available.
      Also in Vantaa and Espoo preparedness for flooding has been enhanced, and the residents have been advised to be prepared for flooding by acquiring sandbags and plasctic.
     
A major winter storm sweeping over Europe on Thursday and early Friday has caused extensive damage and contributed to the death of more than 30 people in Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
      The storm disrupted traffic also at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport last night, with several departures to Central Europe having been delayed for over three hours.
      The larger storm blowing south of Finland is having the effect of setting the Baltic Sea in motion like water in a bath-tub, with sharp rises and falls anticipated. As the storm front continues to blow across the continent, we must be prepared for a return of the high sea-water levels, even if weather conditions in the immediate area of Finland seem relatively benign. The latest forecast is that things will get appreciably colder hereabouts over the weekend.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Rising sea water threatens properties in Helsinki and environs (16.1.2007)

Links:
  The Finnish Institute of Marine Research (FIMR)
  Finnish Meteorological Institute
  Helsinki Water

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