STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Heavy
rains that have flooded parts of Sweden are expected to peak next
week, meteorologists said Saturday as emergency crews struggled
round the clock to fight rising water levels.
In western
Sweden, where the flooding has hit hardest, the situation was
expected to get worse before getting better, with more rain anticipated
this week, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
(SMHI) said.
But in eastern
Sweden, where rising waters in Lake Maelaren have threatened to
flood the capital Stockholm, the situation appeared to be stabilising
as water levels remained unchanged overnight.
Lake Vaenern,
the country's largest lake located in the western part of the
country, was on Saturday 45.14 meters (149 feet) above sea level
and still rising. That was more than a meter above the average
November level, and near the 1967 record of 45.27 meters.
As a result,
Vaenern's tributary lakes and rivers were overflowing, submerging
thousands of acres of farmland, threatening homes and industry,
and disrupting road and rail traffic in the region.
"We think
that Vaenern will rise to the same level as during the record
year of 1967," Bjoern Norell of SMHI told the Swedish news
agency TT.
On Saturday,
a 50-meter strip of motorway in Sunne, in western Sweden, was
washed away by the high waters. No cars were on the road at the
time, and traffic was being rerouted, officials said.
In one of
the worst hit towns, Arvika, hundreds of emergency workers have
been pumping water and building dykes for more than a week. Some
two dozen people at retirement homes have been evacuated so far.
Arvika lies
on the shores of Vaenern's tributary lake Glafsfjorden, where
the water level was more than three meters above normal on Saturday.
Overnight, the lake rose by four centimeters (1.6 inches).
King Carl
XVI Gustaf and Prince Carl Philip visited the region Friday, and
Prime Minister Goeran Persson was expected to tour the flooded
areas on Monday.
In Stockholm,
which is known for its picturesque waterfronts and numerous islands
that together make up the capital, civilian defence officials
said the historic Old Town, or Gamla Stan, island was at particular
risk from Lake Maeleren's heavy water flow.
Gamla Stan's
subway station would have to be closed if waters continued to
rise, they said, and municipal officials have been instructed
to closely observe the city's harbours and waterfronts.
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