Water level is rising: "Sand King" will stop the water
During the major flood in 2002, the water level rose to 2.24 metres above normal.
The rainfall in recent weeks has caused the water level to rise to 1.64 metres. According to forecasts, it could continue to rise to about 1.80 metres in the next few days.
Kristianstad Municipality has therefore requested assistance from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, MSB (Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap). There is now a container with equipment in place which can be used to build temporary barriers.
- It's mainly because we want to be sure not to be surprised. If the water level rises, we may need to protect, for example, the theatre restaurant in Tivoli Park, says Karl-Erik Svensson, Project Manager for embankments in the municipality.
According to him, the water level is stable now.
The equipment from MSB to Kristianstad includes 1,500 metres of embankment protection, 15,000 sandbags and a machine for filling sandbags. The machine is called the "Sand King".
- It has the capacity to fill about 2,000 sacks of sandbags per hour. Each bag weighs about 20 kilos, says Marcus Årskog, Press Secretary at MSB.
After the flood in 2002, new embankments were built.
- We have built a new and higher embankment in Hammarslund, reinforced and raised the embankment in northeast Vilan, raised and reinforced the north Hedentorps embankment and built a new embankment at Lillö. So we are much better equipped today, says Karl-Erik Svensson.