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The storm in Nordland and Troms Tuesday night triggered landslides, downed trees and closed roads. On Tuesday morning, six homes were evacuated in the Balsfjord.
On Monday and Tuesday nights, the remnants of Tropical Storm “Sally” devastated much of Nordland and Troms. An orange hazard warning had been sent ahead of time about very strong gusts in Nordland and heavy rain in Troms.
The danger of floods and landslides was also announced.
On Monday, a landslide occurred in Storsteinnes in the Balsfjord municipality in Troms. Police report that six houses and a total of 34 people have been evacuated after the landslide, in accordance with a precautionary principle.
– Large bodies of water have washed away adjacent parts of the soil. Now we have to wait until geologists have seen the area, to see if it is safe for residents to move home, or what will be the next move, operations manager Rune Nilsen in the Troms police district tells VG at 08.15 .
Geotechnics are expected at the site shortly, police reported on Twitter at 09:45.
Neighbor opens doors to evacuees
According to the police, one of the four houses in Storsteinnes are residences. The occupants of the four households must be taken into account.
Hege Brobakk Nysted lives right next door and is also waiting for the message that he must evacuate.
– I called work and said that I had not come now, but that I am working here, he says. When the nursing homes were evacuated, Nysted offered them shelter in the nursing home.
Operations manager Rune Nilsen says Troms police are no longer prepared as a result of the storm, but that they work closely with municipalities, Veivesenet and other emergency services.
– We are well equipped and the weather forecast looks better throughout the day. At the same time, the soil is soggy, so it’s no wonder the soil masses give way, he says.
Meteorologist: – I’m still not at peace.
In Nordland, around 1,200 people in Rana municipality were isolated. The water level in Ranelva has never been higher in modern times, the manager of the power plant, Marianne Fineide, told Rana Blad on Monday.
– This is huge. We are talking about the greatest flood of all time in the Ranelva in modern times, he said.
State meteorologist Charalampos Sarchosidis of the Meteorological Institute reported Tuesday that the worst is over, but that a new low pressure is approaching towards northern Norway tomorrow.
– Now we have a little respite, but we still don’t have complete peace. Wednesday night will be another stormy night here in the north, says Sarchosidis. Then it will continue to rain a lot, but not as much as in the last 24 hours.
In Nordland, there has been up to 60-85 millimeters of precipitation in 24 hours. In Troms it has ranged between 60 and 75 millimeters. It complies with the orange hazard warnings, explains the meteorologist.
Ambulance hit landslide
John Vanvw Johansen was on his way home from Narvik to Tromsø on Tuesday night, when an ambulance in the storm with blue lights passed him on E8 in Ramfjord shortly before 02:00.
A little further down the road he encountered the ambulance again, then it had collapsed and a tire had been destroyed. He had to be rescued.
– Fortunately, things went well with both the patient and the ambulance staff. “I’ve worked as a traffic driver before and started redirecting traffic on the site,” Johansen tells VG over the phone.
EARTHQUAKE: An ambulance headed straight for the Ramfjord landslide in Troms. Photo: John Vanvw Johansen
The road where the landslide occurred is a main traffic lane for commuters heading to Tromsø. Therefore, there is usually a lot of traffic on the section, explains Johansen.
He stayed there until the road was reopened, and he was able to tackle the remaining 23 kilometers to Tromsø himself.
Shortly after 08.00, the police report that the road has finally been reopened. By then, the landslide had been cleared and the site examined by a geologist.
– The landslide has disappeared because the ground cannot carry the large amounts of water. There is so much rupture and so much precipitation that we have chosen to keep the road closed, operations manager Eirik Kileng in the Troms police district tells VG.
– Like a busy winter day
– It was like a busy winter day, you can safely say. There is a lot of wind and a lot of rain, says traffic operator Bente Nyland in Vegtrafikksentralen Nord to VG just after 05.30 on Tuesday morning.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration, among other things, has moved a large number of felled trees on the roads of Nordland and Troms.
Strong winds have closed Fylkesvei 82 over Kjølhagen in Andøy municipality.
The Boreal bus company reports that closed roads and landslides may have consequences for traffic beyond Tuesday. They ask travelers to follow the diversion reports on reisnordland.no.
Encourage motorists to keep up
Uusimaa in Vegtrafikksentralen Nord encourages motorists to follow the traffic reports beyond Tuesday. In several places in its catchment area, it has also snowed on Tuesday night: on the E6 over Saltfjellet, Riksvei 77 on Graddis and on Fylkesvei 813 on Beiarfjellet.
– If the weather is very bad and there is strong wind, there is always danger with loose objects. Large amounts of precipitation are scary in landslide-prone areas too, and you should always do a weather assessment before driving, she says.
Troms police have also had several weather-related assignments through Tuesday night, and they expect the storm to continue to increase during the day.
– We have received reports of trees that have fallen and some power lines that have gone. There are also a number of closed roads around it, operations manager Eirik Kileng tells VG at 05.15.
HEAVY PRECIPITATION: Large amounts of precipitation led to a significant rise in the water level in several rivers on Monday. Photo: KIM ANDRÉ HAUGAN SCHEI
Parts of sports facilities demolished
At 9:00 pm on Monday night, Troms police were notified that parts of the wall of a sports facility in Bardufoss had been knocked down.
– In connection with a repair we are doing on the roof, we have removed parts of the roof. Tonight, part of the north wall exploded, Bardufoss Storhall general manager Erling Andreassen tells VG.
Andreassen was in the hallway when parts of the wall were ripped off.
– There was training inside the room when this happened and for many it may have been a very unpleasant experience, he says.
Nobody was hurt in the incident.
– We have not received an overview of the scope, he says.
Evacuated homes
Nordland police also had to evacuate five houses due to high water levels in the area. Evacuees are cared for in hotels.
– It’s not pleasant when people have to pack their bags and leave, but we are taking no chances, said the operations manager in the Nordland police district, Kai Eriksen.
NORWAY DIVIDED INTO TWO: Large amounts of precipitation flooded the E6 at Storforshei north of Helgeland in Nordland on Monday afternoon. Photo: Lisa Marie Tønder
Due to heavy rains, the Ranelva river overflowed and landslides have occurred in several places. This led to the closure of the E6 at Storforshei north of Helgeland in Nordland. The Ranelva divided Norway in two.
At 9 pm on Monday night, the road traffic control center reports that the road is open again.
