Flooding Recedes in Southern Finland

High winds pushed sea water to record levels in coastal areas in Finland. In Helsinki the water was 146 centimetres above normal, flowing onto Market Square in the centre, for instance.

Mopping up operations after the weekend floods kept emergency workers in Helsinki and elsewhere busy on Monday. In the capital they tackled waste water flowing into conduits carrying electricity cables and utility pipes.

Temporary flood barriers were removed from the city centre as water levels receeded.

Elsewhere, fire brigades pumped water from over 200 cellars in locations along the coast of eastern Gulf of Finland.

Storm Kills Seven in Sweden

In Sweden, seven people were killed over the weekend by the storm. Winds also disrupted transportation and communications. Rail traffic won't return to normal until the end of the week. Power and phone lines were knocked out to a quarter-million homes.

In Estonia, sea levels as high as three metres above normal caused flooding in the coastal spa town of Pärnu, and in Russia, the highway between the Finnish border and the city of Vyborg was cut off by rising water on Sunday.