Pärnu Declares Emergency After Record Rain Triggers Flooding

Pärnu, a popular Estonian resort city for Finnish tourists, declared an emergency on Friday morning after an exceptional night of rain caused widespread flooding.

The city said 114 millimeters of rain fell between Thursday and Friday. Rainwater blocked the drainage system, sending water into building basements and damaging cars.

The flooding had not caused any deaths, but Pärnu urged residents and others in the city to act cautiously. The city’s deputy mayor, Sander Kilk, called the situation rare. “The exceptionally large amount of water that fell in a short time exceeded the capacity of the stormwater and sewer networks,” he said in a city statement. “Our most important task at the moment is to protect people’s lives, health and property and direct help to the areas where the situation is most difficult.”

Pärnu has about 40,000 residents and is known as a spa town. Images from Friday showed two children riding scooters on flooded streets as the city dealt with the effects of the rainfall.

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The exceptionally large amount of water that fell in a short time exceeded the capacity of the stormwater and sewer networks. Our most important task at the moment is to protect people’s lives, health and property and direct help to the areas where the situation is most difficult.