Marie Odgaard Ritzau Scanpix/Agence France-Presse The pier was covered in water at the port of Nysted , on the island of Lolland, on October 19, 2023, after a weather alert was issued for the area.
Much of northern Europe was bracing for storms and strong winds from the east on Thursday, with authorities warning people that flooding could cause major problems in Denmark's inland waters. the Baltic Sea and in the north of the United Kingdom.
Danish broadcaster TV2 said the region was likely to see the worst flooding in 110 years, and the Danish Meteorological Institute warned that waves could reach four meters along east-facing coasts.
< p>In the UK, the Met Office issued a rare red alert ― the highest level of weather alert ― for parts of Scotland, warning of “exceptional rainfall” on Thursday and Friday and the possibility of “danger to life” due to significant flooding. The last red alert in the UK was issued in 2020.
Authorities have advised Scots not to approach coastal areas.
In Ireland, the storm ― named Babet by British authorities ― caused flooding in several towns and villages, with some areas remaining underwater and without power on Thursday. Soldiers took part in evacuation measures in the town of Midleton, County Cork, where more than 100 properties were flooded.
In Denmark, residents rushed to place sandbags along exposed areas. In Assens, on the central island of Funen, the Danish Emergency Management Agency has deployed huge rubber tubes in the harbor to counter rising waters, according to TV2. Police in southern Denmark have urged residents on the east coast to leave exposed areas if weather forecasts are confirmed, saying cottages, ports and other places could be flooded.
The town of Koege, located in southwestern Denmark, said on its Facebook page that rescue workers were busy filling sandbags and urged citizens to “avoid unnecessary bathing, washing dishes, laundry and other activities requiring a lot of water”, specifying that “the municipality's wastewater treatment plant risked being overloaded.”
Copenhagen Airport and the Danish national railway announced cancellations and delays on Friday due to bad weather.
Several ferry lines between the Danish islands were suspended, as were ferries to destination Rostock, in northern Germany, and Oslo.
Rising waters
Swedish meteorologists also issued a warning for the south coast effective from Friday evening and Saturday. They said water levels in southern parts of Sweden could reach a height not seen since the 1990s.
In Germany, authorities warned of rising waters in the bays of Schleswig-Holstein, south of the border with Denmark, applicable until midday Saturday.
The authorities also warned the population of the rising water levels which will occur during over the next two days on the Baltic Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany's northernmost state, where levels could reach two meters above average in the inlet where the city is located from Flensburg. Some ferries to the North Sea islands of Foehr and Amrum were delayed or canceled, German news agency DPA reported.
Norwegian meteorologists said a strong Low pressure over the United Kingdom combined with high pressure over northern Scandinavia created strong east-northeast winds, with “very strong gusts” expected in southern Norway from the east.