Emergency services in Sundsvall are now putting all their efforts into draining the infrastructure. Head of local emergency services, Mats Granat, is counting on being busy all night – if the weather clears.

“If the rains continue we’ll be working much longer,” he told news agency TT.

So far the water level hasn’t risen enough to pose a threat to the general public, according to Granat.

“You’ll just have try to go round and avoid the worst-stricken areas,” he told TT.

Heavy thundershowers also caused a major power outage and some 10,000 Swedish households were without electricity around lunchtime on Tuesday. However, power companies are counting on the problem being solved by the evening.

At the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) they say that thunderstorms can continually be expected along the northeastern coastline and across the country to counties Dalarna and Värmland well into the night.

“It is fairly intense and from what we have been told there have been hailstones and pretty serious thunderstorms,” said Elin Torstensson of SMHI to TT.

A man in his 60’s was taken to hospital after being struck by lightning at a race course outside of the northern town of Kramfors.

“He was in cardiac arrest and his face was bloody, but the chairman of the race course ran up and gave him heart massage, “ said Conny Ericsson, manager at the racecourse.

Despite the dramatic accident the man was reportedly not badly injured and was taken to a local hospital.

“They took him away on a stretcher but he answered when spoken to and was wiping his face. He seemed in good spirits,” said Ericsson.

According to the SMHI forecast, the thunderstorms should abate over the course of the evening but heavy rains will continue to fall over the north as well as traveling down to more southern parts of the country.