The Helsinki Rescue Department deployed all available resources to pump away water across the city.
HELSINKI—On Saturday morning, an exceptional amount of rain poured over the Finnish capital as powerful thunderstorms swept over the center and surrounding areas.
A lighting strike cut electricity to 12,000 customers for about six minutes at the Suurmetsä district.
The Helsinki Rescue Department deployed all available resources to pump away water across the city.
Among others, water flooded into Finnkino’s cinema at the Itis shopping center in Easter Helsinki and into many basements from downtown to the suburbs.
A flood caused the traffic to stop at Mannerheimintie near the building of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute reported 24.3 millimeters of rain in Kaisaniemi in three hours; momentarily, the rain intensity reached 50 millimeters per hour.
That’s five buckets of water per square meter.
