ROUNDUP: Swedish Weather Service Issues Storm Warning

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Thousands of households in western and southern Sweden suffered power cuts Monday due to falling trees toppled by strong winds and rain that buffeted the country. No serious accidents were reported as the storm late Monday was headed east. The Swedish weather service earlier issued a storm warning over strong winds, fearing they could reach gale-force in the gusts. Danish police and fire services in the Copenhagen suburb Rodovre earlier Monday decided to evacuate two high-rise apartment buildings fearing they could collapse in the strong winds, the Danish news agency Ritzau reported. In all some 1,000 people were affected by the decision to evacuate the two 12- and 14-storey buildings. People were offered temproary shelter in a nearby school. However, when the winds died down late Monday, authorities allowed people to return home. Local authorities have been considering tearing down the buildings that were built in the mid-1950s and have a construction fault, Ritzau said. Duty meteorologist Jonas Hoglund at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) earlier advised people to remain indoors and to be on the alert for loose objects ripped by the winds. In the southern Swedish city of Malmo a planned show in a park was cancelled over fears that spectators might be hit by branches ripped off the trees. Roof tiles and metal sheets blew off some buildings. Power companies alerted extra staff. Power cuts affected some 30,000 households in the southern provinces of Smaland and Skane. Falling trees damaged some powerlines and blocked several roads. Military conscripts and the homeguard were also on standby. SMHI has stepped up its warning system after a January 2005 storm hit the country, felling huge tracts of forest in Smaland and causing power cuts that took days, in some cases weeks, to repair. The 7.8-kilometre long Oresund bridge that links Denmark and Sweden was temporarily closed Monday but reopened after a few hours. The maximum speed was lowered to 50 kilometres an hour.