Melting snow, rain trigger flood risk in southern, western Finland

The water levels in the rivers are increasing in the southern and western regions of the country due to melting snow and rain triggering risk of flood in the regions early next week, said Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) in a bulletin on Saturday.

The SYKE issued the warnings for South Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia, Southwest Finland, Uusimaa and Kanta-Häme regions.

According to the forecasts, the water levels of the rivers in the southern coast will rise close to the average spring flood peaks.

The water level may increase further following melting of the ice dams and overflow over the low-lying areas and snap the road communication in the south and southwest coast. The situation may worsen, if the rains start at the beginning of the next week.

In Pori, the flow of the Kokemäenjoki river was increasing slowly with the risk of melting the ice dams.

The water levels of the rivers in Ostrobothnia and South Ostrobothnia are also rising but according to the weather forecast, the temperature is likely to fall at the beginning of April, which will stop melting snow and decrease the water level.

There is also a risk of ice dams, especially in the lower reaches of Kyröjoki River.

The water levels in the lakes in southern and southwestern Finland remained higher than normal level while in the rest parts of the country the water level remains either normal or slightly higher than normal level.

The water level in Saimaa lake was about 50 centimetres above the average level and will remain higher than normal until the summer.