Lithuania to decide next week on lifting flood risk management measures

Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) will decide next week whether to lift the national flood risk management plan and terminate emergency declarations in affected municipalities, as water levels continue to recede, LRT reports.

Emergency measures were declared on March 17 in six elderships of Šilutė District Municipality and on March 19 in three elderships of Pagėgiai Municipality due to flooding risks. According to the latest data from the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT), water levels across most of the country fell by 20–30 centimetres per day as of March 27, with no further rises expected.

“If this trend continues, decisions will be made next week to deactivate the second and first phases of the State Flood Risk Management Plan, as well as to end the emergency regimes declared at the municipal level,” the NKVC stated. The centre noted this would mark the flood’s effective conclusion, shifting focus to damage assessment and normalisation efforts.

In Šilutė District, water levels in the Leitė and Atmata rivers have returned to normal, reducing flooded meadows by roughly 500 hectares to around 3,500 hectares. Only about ten of the previously recorded 43 flooded homesteads remain affected, most of which are uninhabited. The NKVC emphasised that direct threats to public safety are now minimal, with significant flooding limited to Šilutė District; elsewhere, water levels have stabilised.

The flood was not large-scale, the centre added, citing LHMT and operational monitoring data. Since March 17, Šilutė District had operated under an enhanced flood preparedness phase, allowing temporary protective measures, targeted evacuations, and additional resource mobilisation. These steps, combined with reinforced monitoring and municipal emergency protocols, enabled authorities to manage the situation “without excessive or high-risk interventions,” the NKVC said.

Last week, the Lithuanian military and LHMT hydrologists assessed the need to blast river ice in Šilutė District but determined it would not alter conditions. As of the afternoon of March 27, ice drift was observed in the Curonian Lagoon, while lake ice has grown porous and weak, posing hazards to those venturing onto it, the LHMT warned.