The flood season could begin in Latvia as early as next week. The Ministry of Climate forecasts that it will last from March 5th to April 15th this year. This winter, the snow and ice cover on rivers in Latvia is much thicker than in other years, Latvian Radio reports on 27th February.
Currently, the snow cover in Latvia is 20 to 50 centimetres thick, while the average ice thickness on rivers is over 30 centimetres. The good news is that it is solid, as this means it tends to melt more slowly and evenly. However, the situation is made worse by the fact that the Gulf of Riga is partially frozen, which may pose an additional risk.
The Ministry of Climate and Energy (KEM) has not ruled out that the situation could be similar to the floods of 2010 and 2013, when large areas of Latvia were flooded. However, the spring weather conditions will determine the development of various scenarios – if it remains as it is these days, with temperatures a few degrees above zero during the day but freezing at night, then the ministry and services predict that there will be yellow alerts for flood.
But if it suddenly becomes warm and rainy, then we can also expect orange and red warnings.
“We can predict the weather very well about three days in advance, but it is difficult to predict further ahead. If we have a more rapid heat wave and heavy rainfall, as in 2013, then we will be in dangerous territory. This year’s floods will be longer. Typically, they last two weeks, but this time we are looking at a period from March 5 to April 13. Meteorologists currently predict that it will start in Kurzeme, in the Venta basin, then in the Lielupe basin, then in the Gauja basin in Vidzeme, and finally in the Daugava. However, it should be remembered that the Daugava is long. This means that we may have floods in different stages and at different times on the Daugava,” explained Līga Kurevska, State Secretary of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
The ministry met with local governments this week and assessed that they are preparing for various scenarios, but at the same time cannot rule out that, with the rapid onset of warm weather, the government will also have to decide on declaring a state of emergency. When discussing what measures could be taken before the floods, the ministry said that ice blasting is not planned, as previous experience shows that the risks of blasting do not justify the benefits.
This year, however, the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) will also issue flood warnings as necessary to alert residents to the risks where necessary.
The responsible services have clarified general guidelines for residents on how to act in the event of a flood risk. These will be published on the VUGD website next week.
Similarly, the LVĢMC website provides people with access to a flood risk information system, where they can study maps and quickly obtain data on flood risks a few days in advance.
Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor
Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor
Tell us about a mistake