Western Norway hit by torrential rain and 50-year flood: Voss sets up crisis staff

Five people and a dog were evacuated by the fire service at Voss after half a meter of water from a river flowed around the house. Several roads and the Bergen Railway are closed due to flooding. At Voss, the mayor is preparing for things to get worse.

At the bottom of the case, you can follow the water flow and the flood situation in various waterways continuously.

In several places in Western Norway, a lot of rain fell during the night to Friday. And it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. In several places, a lot of rain has been reported well into Saturday night. Voss is among the places hardest hit.

Just before 10 o’clock on Friday morning, the danger warning was upgraded to a red level for flooding for inland parts of Vestland county.

Red level is defined as an “extreme situation that occurs very rarely” with the risk of extensive flooding, erosion damage and flood damage to buildings and infrastructure. It only happens every 50 years, according to Varsom.no. arrow-outward-link

The police ask people in exposed areas to be careful and avoid traveling outdoors unless strictly necessary. There is a high risk of landslides, large water flows and floods.

Roads can be closed at short notice. The situation may vary from place to place. Therefore, the police ask people to keep up to date through the media or via varsom.no arrow-outward-link . In case of urgent help, they ask that the police be contacted.

50-year flood and crisis staff

In Flåm, the level is above the 50-year flood. Crews are working to build flood barriers, but margins are slim.

At 19:00 there are ten centimeters left before the water goes over the wall, and flows into the center of Flåm, says Reinhardt Sørensen, technical manager in Aurland municipality.

– We didn’t think it would get so high up so quickly. If it rises more, we have to call in more, either from the neighboring municipalities or the Civil Defence, he says.

NRK writes that Voss is setting up crisis staff because of the storm. This is reported by mayor Hans Erik Ringkjøb.

In Teigdalen on Voss, five people and a dog were evacuated by the fire service.

– They can’t go any further because of all the water. But they are sitting in a tractor and are safe and sound, he tells NTB at 6.30pm.

– About half a meter of water from the river flows around the house, reported the 110 center a little earlier in the evening.

At the same time, the West Police District reports that the Teigeldalsvegen, which runs from Evanger towards Brekkhus in Voss herad, is closed and impassable, because the Teigedalselva has begun to rise above the roadway, Bergens Tidende reports.

NVE says that Voss is particularly affected by flooding, and according to the forecasts, the flood peak will be on Saturday.

– The water just keeps rising, there is no reason to believe that this will end anytime soon, says mayor Hans-Erik Ringkjøb to BT arrow-outward-link Friday night.

Closed schools

Friday morning reported Bergens Tidende arrow-outward-link that Årdal municipality closes all schools. The municipality is experiencing a 50-year flood on Friday and is on full alert. They fear that a bridge will collapse and have set up emergency staff.

– We are most concerned about the Utla and the river course down towards Øvre Årdal. A good deal of water could come towards Øvre Årdal, which could primarily cause damage to property, says municipal director Stig Stark-Johansen in Årdal to BT.

A lot of rain has been reported in the municipality until 4 o’clock on Saturday night, according to Yr.

The municipality fears that important cultural monuments will be damaged in the flood. Several of the unique buildings are in danger.

– A disaster if our cultural heritage is lost, says mayor Hilmar Høl in a press release.

There is talk of several old buildings that will be affected by the flood.

In the morning hours on Friday, the bodies of water also created challenges for traffic in several places.

Bergensbanen was closed for several hours. A little before 4 p.m., NTB reports that after being closed since this morning, Bergensbanen reopened around 3 p.m.

At 6 p.m., parts of Bergensbanen had to be closed again. Then it was the section Voss – Dale that was closed due to large amounts of rainfall and water in the track.

Several roads closed

The amount of rainfall has also created challenges for road traffic. Many roads are affected by floods and landslides. This also applies to E 16, which makes it difficult to establish alternative transport to the closed Bergen Railway.

Vy informs BT that they have booked hotel rooms for train travelers in Voss.

At around 18.30, the Norwegian Road Administration reports that the following sections of road are closed. The situation is changing rapidly and the list is not necessarily exhaustive:

– People must be observant of a lot of water in the roadway in places, especially with regard to hydroplaning and the like, says traffic operator Kjetil Larsen at Vegtrafikksentralen to Bergens Tidende. arrow-outward-link

High water flows are also expected in several rivers on Friday, with the risk of flooding or erosion damage.

Garage and a boathouse destroyed by landslide

Just before 01:00, on the night of Friday, the police received a report of a rock slide near Haugsvær in Nordhordland. That is written by BT. arrow-outward-link

– There are large masses, described as boulders the size of cars, says police operations manager Stine Mjelde to the newspaper.

– The rock slide has taken away, or at least destroyed, a garage and a boathouse.

Marita Vågset was on her way last night to pick up her parents, who live right next to the landslide, she writes to BT.

– My parents woke up to a strong hiss and rumble down the river. Then they discovered that there had been a big rock slide.

She describes the experience as “really disgusting”.

On Thursday at half past seven, the police also reported a landslide in Sogndal municipality. 15 residents were locked up.