Denmark warns of once-in-a-century flooding

The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) has warned residents living on low-lying areas along the Baltic Sea coastline of flooding as sea levels are expected to rise dramatically on Wednesday as a result of stong gales, local media reported Tuesday.


"The strongest winds will be on the west coast, whereas some other places might experience strong storm-like gusts," DMI meteorologist Lars Henriksen was quoted by Danish news agency Ritzau as saying.

The strong winds are expected to ease by midday on Wednesday, but when the winds turn north and northeast later in the day it may cause rising water levels in the Baltic Sea.

DMI predicts sea levels to rise 1.3 to 1.8 meters and only seen once in a century.

The areas most at risk are the eastern, western and southern coastlines of every Danish islands situated in the south, along with the two main islands of Funen and Zealand, where Copenhagen is located, according to the English newspaper The Copenhagen Post.

DMI spokesperson Thyge Rasmussen was quoted by the paper as saying that passengers should be particularly cautious of the road conditions, and drivers should be wary of strong gusts that could "tear down tiles and topple trees".
 [Xinhua/China]
4/1/17