Rivers Started a Swift Rise in South of Estonia

The high temperature and the thunder on Saturday made the spring waters move fast in South-Estonia and this brought the water level in most of the rivers to rise more than 20 cm a day.

„Piusa is 40 cm, Võhandu 40 cm, Elva river 40 cm,“ the hydrologist of The Estonian Meteorolgy and Hydrology Institute Ene Randpuu listed the daily rise of waterlevels in rivers. Porijõgi, which flows into Emajõgi near Tartu, set a record and rose about 80 cm.

In Räpina, a lysis was opened on the dam of river Võhandu, so the water would not flow into the city. Everything is okay in Tartu on the shore of Emajõgi, however the spring water are reputedly going to rise the river by a meter.

According to Randpuu it is not possible to predict yet how high the rivers might rise. The southern rivers are probably not going to rise much, because the depth of snow is much smaller in Southern-Estonia compared to the northern areas.

Pedja- and Põltsamaa river, which has risen 30 cm in a day is probably going to flood the lower areas, because the spring waters of Pandivere uplands have not started yet.

The meadows and fields are snowless in several places. The subsequent depends on the amount of snow and its melting speed in the forests.

Emajõgi has risen about 20 cm over the past nights. The stationary measurement pole was on 170 cm compared to level zero. At 250 cm, the river starts to cause problems for the surrounding areas and floods the shores. Randpuu confirmed that it is going to happen in this spring as well.

[Photo: Postimees.ee]