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Severe floods hit Gävle after two months’ worth of rain overnight, Sweden

gavle-record-rainfall-flood-sweden-august-2021

Record-breaking rain hit the Swedish city of Gävle in Gästrikland Region on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 17 and 18, 2021, leaving hundreds of homes and vehicles flooded and prompting authorities to close schools and issue stay-at-home warnings.

According to the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), Gävle received 161.6 mm (6.3 inches) from 20:00 LT on August 17 to 10:00 LT on August 18, breaking the previous 24-hour record of 125.8 mm (4.9 inches).

Of the total amount, 140 mm (5.5 inches) fell between 20:00 LT on August 17 to 04:00 LT on August 18, with 101 mm (3.9 inches) in just 2 hours between 00:00 and 02:00 LT.1

The city's average monthly rainfall for the month of August is 70 mm (2.7 inches).

Roads across the city were flooded as well as hundreds of homes and vehicles, prompting authorities to issue stay-at-home warnings2 and close schools on August 18. Only preschools remained open with limited staffing.

In addition, no trains were running between Borlänge and Falun in the Dalarna region on Wednesday morning.

YouTube video

YouTube video

References:

1 ‘Don’t come here’: Swedish city of Gävle flooded after DOUBLE a month’s worth of rain falls overnight – The Local

2 Natural disaster, Gävleborg County, August 18, 2021 – Polisen.se

Featured image credit: SLOWshiftCHANNEL

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2 Comments

  1. How can the devil in the sky, CO₂, create this record train fall at the same time some are claiming that it is responsible for the Colorado river almost drying up?

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