By Modesta Gaučaitė-Znutienė, LRT.lt.
Although freezing temperatures continue across Lithuania, authorities are urging residents in some areas to prepare for possible flooding if a thaw causes the Neris River to swell.
Warnings were issued as early as January to residents of the Kaunas district about potential flooding along the Neris. While forecasters are not predicting a sharp warm-up in the coming days, the capital, Vilnius, says it is preparing for various scenarios.
According to the Vilnius City Municipality, the most vulnerable areas are where the Neris could overflow most significantly: parts of Grigiškės, Rasos, Naujoji Vilnia, Paupys and several pockets of the Old Town, particularly near the confluence of the Neris, Vilnelė and Vokė rivers.
“It is especially difficult to predict exactly how the water will behave, because rivers in Lithuania form a network, and the situation in one place depends on the overall network,” municipal officials said in written comments. “For example, the situation in Vilnius directly depends on conditions near Jonava and Kaunas.”
The municipality said it is working with the Inland Waterways Authority to model worst-case scenarios and identify precise locations at risk of flooding.
Read more: LRT.LT
