More rain is expected over Västernorrland on Thursday and Friday at the same time as the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) already warns of rising flows in the Moälven river in Örnsköldsvik municipality – where water from the weekend's downpour continues downstream.
According to forecasts and simulations, there are risks of high water flows in the areas downstream in the Anundsjöån river from Bredbyn down to Mellansel, says Magnus Haglund, municipal director in Örnsköldsvik.
There is a risk that the water flows will increase, both from the water that is on its way down and also from the new precipitation areas that are coming.
The rescue service in Örnsköldsvik urges residents to prepare themselves.
One should not paint the devil on the wall, but it is good to be proactive and do what one can if one has a basement or lives far away or in an exposed area. Get a pump, remove valuable things and pick up loose objects in the basement, says incident manager Linus Jogedal.
Barriers
From the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) arrives on Wednesday a reinforcement resource with 2,000 meters of barriers, a high-capacity pump and two sandbag machines to Örnsköldsvik.
The local rescue service assesses how and where it should be used, says Susanna Trehörning, operational manager at MSB.
Our perspective is that it is first and foremost used to ensure community-critical functionality.
MSB also assists in developing scenarios for how the situation can develop, she says.
What types of outcomes can it be? What does the planning look like connected to that? Are there any gaps that are not covered that we need to take responsibility for?
Magnus Haglund, who on Tuesday traveled to the flooded village of Kubbe, says that it is striking how local the downpours have been.
Down in Örnsköldsvik city, we notice nothing, but as soon as you drive a few miles up, it is enormous floods. It becomes almost an unreal feeling.
Less risk of landslides
That there is already a lot of water in the ground increases the risk of flooding, but it is not as great a risk for landslides, according to the Swedish Transport Administration.
The precipitation area that is going to pass on Thursday and Friday worries us. We have favorable weather now and work a little against the clock to manage as much as possible, says Henrik Sundquist, unit manager with responsibility for maintenance at the Swedish Transport Administration.
We first talked about around 40 affected roads, and we are working our way through them.
It is also progressing on the railway, but there is no forecast for when the traffic can be in operation. However, SJ announces that they are managing to replace more and more of the canceled trains with buses between Sundsvall and Umeå.
