Heavy rain has led to several houses in Vestfold having their basements full of water. Recommends removing ice and snow More precipitation and mild weather are reported. The fire service in Vestfold asks people to shovel floodways and remove ice and snow from drains. They also advise that coarse salt can work wonders in and around drains. VIB asks people to make flood roads and remove ice and snow from drains. Photo: Vestfold Intermunicipal fire brigade 40 cm of water in the basement Kristin Myhre Waaler lives in one of these houses, who tells of a dramatic morning. – It was perfectly fine at 06.30, but just fifteen minutes later there was a large lake out here, says Kristin Myhre Waaler. Waaler has got 40 cm of water in the basement of the house on Tolvsrød. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen / news Waaler thinks there has been around 40 centimeters of water in the basement. The courtyard of Waaler on Wednesday morning. Photo: Private – Everything is floating around, and what is on the floor is most likely broken. She praises the fire department who were quickly on the scene after she called. Water in water Just across the road lives neighbor Erling Elverum. – When I was going to pick up the newspaper, I fell out in ten centimeters of water, says resident Erling Elverum, who lives in Tolvsrød. A LOT OF WATER: Resident Erling has water in his house. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen At first he thought it was a water leak, but eventually saw that the fields were overflowing with water from the last few days of heavy snow and rain. – We are so low that it just flooded in here, so a large lake has formed in the yard. It went quickly from Elverum plump outside to water inside the houses. Maybe only fifteen minutes, he thinks. – There were enormous amounts of water that came. He was not prepared for the large numbers that would enter the house. – I have seen that there has been a lot of water and surface water, but I could not have imagined that there would be so much. – What is the extent of the damage inside you? – There are floors, walls and a number of things that have probably gone badly with. But we’ll see what they manage to get done, says Elverum. The heavy rain on the night of Wednesday has led to a lot of water in gardens. Photo: Magnus Skatvedt Iversen / news Pumps that only the Fire Service uses to remove water from gardens and cellars. Nine pumps have been operating at several homes around Vestfold. – With the pumps, we can move the water to stormwater sumps, says fire chief Steinar Holm. IT IS PUMPED: Here one of the pumps is running to reduce the amount of water. Photo: Vestfold Intermunicipal Fire Service Water on fields At several homes on Tolvsrød in Tønsberg, large amounts of water have collected on nearby fields. In Åsgårdstrand it is the same reason. – The water is now penetrating several houses, says duty manager in Sør-Öst 110 Tom Berger. The fire service is starting to get control of the water quantities at Tolvsrød. – We have been able to open a sump lid and get some water out. A lot of water on a nearby field causes problems for nearby homeowners. Photo: Vestfold Intermunicipal fire service Frozen ground is the problem During the night and the early hours of the morning, around 22 millimeters of rain fell around Tønsberg, Horten and Åsgårdstrand. State meteorologist Terje Alsvik Wallø explains that the amount of rain would not have caused problems had it not been for the frozen ground. – Especially in winter with frozen ground, it will often cause problems in certain places where you are exposed to water that can get in. In Eastern Norway, it is Vestfold that has received the most rain during the night and morning hours, but Southern Norway has received more. In Lyngdal, 45 millimeters of rain was measured and in Kristiansand 28 millimeters of rain. Firefighters are working furiously to assist the houses that are standing in water. Photo: Vestfold Intermunicipal Fire Service
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Water flowed into several houses – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
