The last time the water levels were this high in some places was in the late 1990s or early 2000s. According to the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), floodwaters will likely spill onto fields and roads in parts of southern and western Finland, but not into buildings.
Finland is emerging from a deep freeze, giving way to milder temperatures and more snow. On Saturday three people in Helsinki fell through the ice at two different locations within the same 15-minute period.
Sipilä said that during his 40 years working for state-owned parks and wildlife management agency Metsähallitus, he has never seen such poor ice conditions in January.
Forecasts indicate that ice cover will thin by dozens of centimetres all the way up to Lapland.
The state rail company VR has said that it will substitute buses on some of the cancelled rail trips.
Sea ice around Helsinki becomes more precarious as spring draws near.
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