The boulder probably came loose from 900 meters above sea level. And although there are rarely rocks when the road, this one did. This is what avalanche adviser at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Ole Andre Helgaas, tells news. A car drove past just seconds before the large rock hit the road. – I was shaking afterwards. It was difficult to sleep yesterday, says Robert Fagerli to Nordlys. It was probably he who drove the white car you see in the video. However, it is not relevant to secure the area. – The measure here is that we are repairing the road. We’ll fix a railing. Then we expect that the road will be passable and straightforward for public holiday traffic. And hope that it goes well, says Helgaas. He concludes that this is a rare event, and that they focus on securing other places such as Falsnestinden, by Skibotn. – There is one block that has managed to get down to the road, unlike all other blocks in the last 30 years. They have stopped in stone. – So what happened yesterday are events we just have to live with? – Correct. This is how it is with roads under steep mountains. We can never guarantee the occasional block will bring this down. Like this one. A rare event. The section where the landslide took place is now partially open, with light regulation and one field is open for traffic. Ole Andre Helgaas, on the right, describes the incident yesterday as a rarity. Photo: Rune Nordgård Andreassen / news Can not secure against all risk Minister of Transport Jon-Ivar Nygård (Labor Party) believes that yesterday’s landslide shows the vulnerability in landslide-prone areas of Norway. – This also shows how climate change affects and makes the vulnerability greater than it was before. Nygård emphasizes that it is not possible to insure one hundred percent against all risk, and that one must rely on the professional assessments of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. – That being said, we have not gone into that matter from the ministry’s side yet, but I hear what you are saying now. – Is it relevant to review the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s assessments? – I do not want to say anything specific about that. In the coming years, we will use significant funds for landslides and avalanche protection. Without me being able to say here and now whether it is relevant on this stretch, the Minister concludes. Minister of Transport and Communications Jon-Ivar Nygård believes that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s assessments must be trusted. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news Everyone has been worried – Repairing one railing does not help everything that is on the mountainside. This is what the mayor of Storfjord municipality, Geir Varvik, says. He is skeptical that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration considers the incident to be rare, and that the area will not be landslide-proof. – Then I think they have to go in their own papers, which will show that it may not be so rare. And then they can look up at the mountain. Then they will see that there are many potential stones that can come down. The mayor of Storfjord, Geir Varvik, encourages the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and the Ministry of Transport to take an extra look at the mountains. Photo: Rune Nordgård Andreassen / news Varvik says that this is not the first time that both rock and earth have collapsed on a stretch of approximately 300 meters. He sent a letter to the ministry several months ago. There, the mayor stated that a new risk and vulnerability analysis must be taken for the area. – The Ministry of Transport and Communications now has to see the seriousness of how landslide-prone it is on this stretch. The mayor must have been contacted by the ministry for a possible meeting in the near future. He is clear on one thing, something must be done, and he thinks it’s just luck that no life was lost this time. – We have been worried about everyone who drives by here. We look up at the clock, and we look up at the mountain when we drive to and from work. Work on repairing the road has already begun. Currently only one field is open. Photo: Rune Nordgård Andreassen / news
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Massive boulder fell on the road but it is not relevant with landslide protection at the moment – news Troms and Finnmark
