Floods in Lapland are over and water levels are falling

Information provided by the ELY Centre for Lapland and the Flood Centre

The long spring of floods in Lapland is finally ending; it is time to remove the temporary flood protection structures shielding buildings. The flood peak in the Muonionjoki River occurred on Tuesday and in the Tornionjoki River on Thursday. At the moment, water levels of all main waterways are falling towards summer water levels and the weather forecasts for the near future do not show rainfall that would raise the water level again to a harmful level. All main roads have been restored to operational condition.

This spring of floods in Lapland was exceptional. Snow level was at a record high and the floods occurred later than usually. However, a long, dry melting season and cold periods slowed down the melting of snow and the floods remained below previous records. In many areas, the biggest rainfall only occurred after the floods had already started falling. In Kemijoki, the flood was unusually large, and in Rovaniemi, it exceeded the damage limit. Water levels in the Ivalojoki and Tenojoki Rivers were also very close to record heights. In Kittilä, the flood stayed close to the damage limit for nearly a week.

Thanks to extensive preparations, floods only caused minor damage. In addition to a few residential buildings, some recreational residential buildings and structures located on the shore, such as grill gazebos and warehouse buildings, were damaged. Some wastewater pumping stations in the Rovaniemi and Kittilä areas had to be closed temporarily. In Rovaniemi, the Kuusamontie road had to be raised in the Vaarala area, and some streets and cycle paths were closed during the flood peak. As a result of the floods, public roads were closed e.g. in Salla and Ylitornio, and the flood in the Muonionjoki River cut off the road between Finland and Sweden in Karesuvanto.

Monitor the flood situation

Up-to-date flood notifications will not be published early in the week any more; in the future, notifications will only be published when necessary. You can find the flood forecast and warnings map on the national www.ymparisto.fi/tulvatilanne (in Finnish) website. Forecasts are updated every few hours.

More information:

Chief Specialist, Water Resources Engineering Timo Alaraudanjoki, Lapland ELY Centre, tel. 0295 037 282, First [email protected]

Leading hydrologist Bertel Vehviläinen, Finnish Environment Institute (Flood Centre), tel. 0295 251 731 First [email protected]

Instructions for preparing for floods

• Lapland Rescue Department's Flood 2020 website (in Finnish)
• How do I prepare for floods and what do I do if I get caught up in a flood?
• Guide for residents - independent preparation for floods  (in Finnish)

Share your flood observations with the Weather app

• Weather app

Joint bulletins from the ELY Centre for Lapland and the Flood Centre and bulletins from the Finnish Emergency Services for Lapland

• Press releases from the ELY Centre for Lapland and the Flood Centre
• Lapland Emergency Services bulletins(daily)

Monitoring the flood situation

• The flood situation throughout Finland can be monitored in almost real time on the national watershed forecasts and warnings website Hydrological situation and forecasts
• Constantly updated map: Watershed forecasts and flood warnings
• You can also find the hydrological situation and press releases on the new vesi.fi service  (in Finnish)
• Current traffic information: TMFG traffic situation service
• The joint flood information site of all ELY centres (in Finnish)
• Lapland Rescue Department's Lapland's Flood 2020 website (in Finnish)

Twitter

• #tulva OR #tulvat ja #Lapintulvat (floods in Twitter In Finnish)
• @pinnanalta (SYKE hydrologists)
• @Lapin_ELY (ELY Centre for Lapland)
• @meteorologit (Finnish Meteorological Institute)
• @Lapinpelastus (Lapland Rescue department)

Karesuvanto 9.6.2020