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WEATHER

Denmark braced for 100km/h hour winds as Storm Malik sweeps in

Denmark braced itself for the arrival of Storm Malik on Saturday afternoon, with trains and ferries cancelled, bridges closed, and vulnerable people evacuated.

Denmark braced for 100km/h hour winds as Storm Malik sweeps in
Waves crash over the harbour wall in Hirtshals, Jutland, as Storm Malik hits Denmark. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

The storm started to hit Denmark at around 3pm on Saturday, and Trine Pedersen, a meteorologist at Denmarks’ state forecaster DMI, said that the winds would get stronger and stronger later in the evening, reaching maximum strength in the middle of the night.

“At first it will be a strong wind with strong gales, but early in the evening we will quite quickly probably reach a full storm on the West Coast, with gusts at hurricane force.” she told the Ritzau newswire. “In the rest of the country, it will more of a gale to a stormy gale, with gusts at storm force.”

Frederikssund Municipality to the north of Zealand has evacuated 20 elderly citizens, because of the risk that floods and storms might prevent them from receiving care.

The Great Belt Bridge between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen will close from 10pm on Saturday until at least 10am on Sunday, while the Vejlefjord bridge is being closed to wind-sensitive vehicles.

Ferry company Scandlines has canceled departures on Saturday between Gedser and Rostock, Color Line has canceled all departures between Hirtshals and Kristiansand in Norway, and the Læsø ferry has cancelled departures to Frederikshavn.

Frederikssund’s mayor, Tina Tving Stauning, on Thursday warned people in the municipality to be careful. During Storm Bodil in 2013, the low-lying area of Zealand was hit by severe flooding. 

“The most important thing is to save people. There should be no people being endangered because the floodwaters are coming,” she told TV2 on Thursday. 

In many coastal cities, the emergency services on Saturday morning erected flood barriers to protect low-lying areas. 

Temporary flood barriers have already been put up around the coast of Frederikssund. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix
Emergency service personnel erect flood barriers in Randers, Jutland, on Saturday morning: Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix

The elderly citizens in Frederikssund are being looked after at two elderly care homes in the municipality.

As well as the cancelled ferries, train company DSB is also cancelling trains on several routes: regional trains between Aarhus, Fredericia and Esbjerg will not run on Saturday night, and from Saturday at 4pm all traffic will be suspended on seven local train lines on the island of Zealand. 

These include the Hornbæk line, the Gribskov line, the Nærum line, Lille Nord, the Frederiksværk line, the Odsherred line and the Tølløse line.

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WEATHER

Parts of Denmark to be hit by close to a whole month’s rain on Tuesday

Parts of Denmark could get as more than 40mm of rain on Tuesday, on the final day of the wet weather the country has suffered since Saturday.

Parts of Denmark to be hit by close to a whole month's rain on Tuesday

The low pressure front that has been moving through Denmark will hit the islands of Funen and the west of Zealand in the morning on Tuesday, hitting the Kattegat straits and eastern Jutland at around midday before moving north over central and northern Jutland over the afternoon.  

According to a forecast by public broadcaser DR, the heaviest rain will be in the northern part of Juland, where most areas will receive between 25mm and 35mm of rain, with areas receiving over 40mm, close to the average of 47mm for the the entire month of May. 

Police on the island of Funen have called on all motorists to make sure their lights are working properly and to turn them on, saying there have already been accidents today due with motorists whose rear lights are not working, meaning they cannot be seen in the heavy rain. 

There were two accidents on Tuesday on the motorway between Middelfart and Odense. 

Tuesday marks the third day in a row when there have been heavy downpours over parts of Denmark, with Morud in the north of Funen on Sunday suffering a cloudburst which led to 27mm to fall in just 30mm.

Earlier on Tuesday 18.8mm of rain fell in just 30 minutes in Roskilde, during a thunderstorm. 

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