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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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