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A difficult rescue operation is currently underway at the avalanche pit at Ask in Gjerdrum. There is still movement in the ground and danger of new landslides, according to the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE).
NVE is on high alert and is staffed 24 hours a day until further notice, regional director Toril Hofshagen tells RB. NVE staff and resources have been dispatched from across the country to help.
A plan has also been put into operation and developed for the drilling rigs that will operate around the clock.
– There are several aspects of the work being carried out now: one is the rescue operation itself, and the other is that the operations being carried out can be carried out safely. The avalanche pit is very challenging to work with – the masses are floating, says Knut Hoseth at NVE.
– So far it has worked a lot in the air. It is not possible to move in the pit, he adds.
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- Ten people He is still missing after the landslide in Ask in the municipality of Gjerdrum, from night until Wednesday. No one has been confirmed dead, but the police hypothesis is that these ten are in the area of the landslide.
- Nine buildings with a total of 31 residential units and six garage houses were seized by the landslide, police said. First, it was reported that 14 addresses were covered by the landslide.
- The fire brigade claims that some of the buildings have moved 400 meters in the avalanche.
- Police confirm that several people were rescued from the area of the landslide by helicopter on Wednesday. How many are unknown.
- The landslide is a rapid clay landslide that is spread over a larger area. These landslides can occur when fast clay is overloaded. Then it loses its strength and flows like liquid.
- Due to the unstable soil masses, exploration teams are unable to physically descend into landslide areas. Therefore, the exploration work is carried out with drones, helicopters, rescuers and the so-called USAR crews. These are crews that are trained to safely carry out rescues in buildings, ditches, facilities, landslides and the like, totally or partially collapsed.
- The night before Thursday, a rescuer, a police dog and a dog handler plunged into the avalanche to search the building. The search did not return any results.
- Ten people have been reported injured, with varying degrees of damage. One of the cases is characterized by being serious. 1000 people have been evacuated.
- Police urge not to send fireworks on New Year’s Eve from Gjerdrum. The prohibition is considered.
Two machines at work
He is a regional manager in the north and has experience in both landslides and emergency preparedness. Generally speaking, it talks about the work that is now being done and planned in such situations. NVE assists police and health with professional advice.
– Now this is an area where a good number of terrestrial investigations have been carried out since before. So far, they have worked to get a good overview of the data they already have. Also, drilling rigs are now being installed, I think two of them, to get an overview and to supplement the knowledge you already have, says Hoseth.
Some of the houses in the avalanche in Gjerdrum have moved up to 400 meters, police say. The edge of the avalanche is more than 700 meters long and 300 meters wide.
(The case continues below the image).
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: Toril Hofshagen at NVE reports on the landslide on Ask. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB
– How far can you go
– What will such surveys contain?
– It consists of knowing better the basic conditions. Then work from outside the avalanche pit to find out what is considered safe ground. So it is a measure to better understand what the landslide is like, responds the regional manager.
– There is assistance in the preparation of the rescue operation, at the same time that follow-up investigations are carried out to better understand the landslide and the surrounding area, with a view to being able to say something more about how far the landslide can go, he adds.
– Don’t you drill into the well itself?
– It’s too risky. Work is underway in the surrounding area, Hoseth responds.
Comes with new recommendations
In addition, it states that this information will be used with the intention of declaring some healthy areas during Thursday. Together with consultants from NGI and Multiconsult, NVE has developed a plan for the drilling investigations.
NVE claims that they have investigated, among other things, the possibility of using the road in the southwestern part of the area that has been evacuated. Around 1,000 people have been evacuated so far.
Regional chief Hofshagen stated earlier in the day that the goal is to make further recommendations to emergency services later Thursday.
– The reason is very uncertain and there is still a risk that there could be new landslides in the area, Hofshagen tells NTB.
– It happens that when the evacuation is established, great care is taken, to make sure that the landslide does not affect more people. These follow-up investigations will be able to show how far the evacuation zone needs to go, says Hoseth.
– Will it be a long time before I can examine and go to the well?
– Usually it will take a long time. It depends on how the situation is in different places in the avalanche pit. There is not only fast clay there, there is also other material there. These are challenging conditions, Hoseth says.
