Elin and Björn Mårtensson receive visitors in Björn's father's house in Kubbe. Outside the kitchen window, the rain is pouring down in intense showers. Three days after the flood that filled the basement and ground floors – and which was about to destroy the bridge over Anundsjöån – the levels have dropped, but in the food cellar the water is still standing half a meter high.
Björn Mårtensson picks up the borrowed pump from the basement, it will be replaced with his own. The rescue service has announced that they need to get their pump back, it will be needed downstream where the water is now moving and new floods are feared.
Now that they are warning downstream, you feel anxious, that people do not understand even though they have said "prepare", says Elin Mårtensson.
Spring flood in a few hours
Most people are used to spring floods, but then it can spread out over one to three weeks. This came in maybe six or twelve hours, adds Björn Mårtensson.
It was at 6 pm on Monday that they left their farm and headed towards their brother-in-law's house, near Anundsjöån to help, tells Elin Mårtensson.
It went so incredibly fast.
Like marshmallows
Their farm is located further up and escaped the floods – on the other hand, their approximately 200 silage bales began to float away when the water rose.
The nice, neatly stacked pile of bales with radar collapsed and lay like marshmallows in the water and bobbed around, says Elin.
A bale weighs 300–600 kilos and they had to get help from the rescue service and neighbors who came with tractors and wagons to move them to a safer place.
The water rose a total of four meters in the village to the highest level in 100 years, according to the municipality. Now a new rainstorm has moved in over Västernorrland and is expected to increase according to SMHI towards Thursday evening.
Elin and Björn Mårtensson are preparing as best they can.
We have bought pumps and hoses. My brother has bought tarpaulins to be able to build more walls and we are refueling the tractors to be able to fetch more gravel, says Björn Mårtensson.
Adrenaline
One concern is also the 75 cows they have out on pasture. Of their seven pastures, four have fences under water.
One has been driving and checking extra times to see that they do not become stressed, says Elin Mårtensson.
They themselves just keep working. They are running on adrenaline, she says.
If you start thinking afterwards, everything will probably bubble up, she says and continues:
It's better to be uplifted by gratitude for all the help we've received.
