Heavy rain, melting snow cause devastating floods across Norway
Baku, June 11 (AZERTAC). The weather forecast wasn`t very good as Norwegians looked forward to their last official three-day weekend until Christmas. State officials warned of floods over large portions of the country as heavy rains were due to keep pouring down.
After lots of sunshine last weekend, the heavy dark clouds of the past few days looked set to keep piling up over both southern and northern Norway.
“Lots of rain has led to fast snow melt in northern Norway and parts of western Norway,” Erik Holmquist of Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate announced. “In southern Norway, we`re expecting a lot of rain over the next few days.”
Only parts of Trøndelag were likely to avoid the deluge, Holmquist said, while rain was expected through Saturday most everywhere else.
Several areas in Oslo and southeastern Norway already were flooded after torrential rain Tuesday morning. In downtown areas of the capital, two major thoroughfares (Møller Gate and Maridalsveien) were temporarily closed. On Thursday, NVE was sending out warnings that several rivers could spill over their banks, especially in the mountain valley of Gudbrandsdal.
“It`s important that people secure items around their homes,” Holmquist said. Anyone out camping should also be careful, and trailers and camping vans should also be parked away from lakes and rivers to avoid being swept away.
NVE`s own website was covered with flood warnings, for mountain valleys in southern Norway, for northern Norway and for the counties of Telemark, Buskerud, Vestfold, Akershus, Oslo and Østfold. Heavy rains can quickly raise water levels in small creeks and rivers, NVE warned.
Torrential rains combined with melting snow have caused devastating floods across central Norway, washing away several houses and roads and causing landslides.
One person has been injured in the floods, but it was unclear Saturday whether their condition was serious.
Spokesman Morten Harangen at the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning says the northern part of the country has also been affected, but is more due to high temperatures that have sped up the snow-melting in the mountains. Harangen says over 100 people have been evacuated so far.
Late Friday, Norways Justice and Transport Minister Knut Storberget met with rescue work representatives to discuss the flood situation.
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