LATEST: Varsom.no has upgraded the flood warning to orange level for Vestland, Rogaland and parts of Agder. Orange level means there is a significant risk of flooding. There have been a number of landslides in Vestland county on Saturday, and at 18.20 there were 25 closed roads in total in Vestland and Rogaland, according to the Norwegian Road Traffic Centre. Among other things, there has been a snow and slush avalanche on national highway 7 between Eidfjord and Hardangerbroen. The road is closed. – If someone is standing in a queue here waiting for the road to open, they have to get away!, writes Vegtrafikksentralen on X. There is an imminent danger of more avalanches, according to the Norwegian Road Administration. Sogndal is isolated There have been several avalanches in Sogndal municipality, which combined with floods have caused all roads out of the municipality to be closed. The municipality has set up a crisis team. – Many people report houses and commercial buildings with water in the basement. We do what we can to assist as many people as possible, says mayor Stig Ove Ølmheim to news. Continuous evacuation of people living in the exposed area is also being considered. County road 55 between Balestrand and Dragsvik is closed due to an avalanche. A new assessment will be made about a possible opening on Sunday at 12 noon. – I arrived just after the avalanche, so I didn’t get it with me. But I am very happy that no lives were lost, says Oddrun Wathne, who lives in the area. An avalanche blocks county road 55 in Balestrand. Photo: Oddrun Wathne The Hella-Vangsnes-Dragsvik ferry connection is now on a crisis route, which means that the ferry also goes through Balestrand. A little further into the fjord from the ferry connection, in Sværefjorden, there has also been a landslide. This means that those who live in Vetlefjorden and on Menes are trapped. Within the one ferry quay on the connection, Hella, it is also closed. Between Grinde and Hella, the road is closed due to flooding. It will not be opened again until the water level goes down. Many roads are now closed due to landslides, avalanches or the risk of landslides. Several roads have also been closed due to this, but have been reopened. – Now it’s busy. There is a lot of water, rock and ice that comes down and flows out over the road in the entire county, said traffic operator Andreas Egenæs Herland to news earlier Saturday. – I think there will be more road closures throughout the evening. A number of danger warnings have been sent out about a lot of water and precipitation. – There is still a lot of water coming. It will be much the same throughout the evening, and I think perhaps there will be more road closures, says Egenæs Herland at Vegtrafikksentralen. The police are also busy with the storm on Saturday. – We receive a number of messages, including from Sogn, Sunnfjord, Nordfjord, Hardanger and Voss, says operations manager Tore-André Brakstad. He emphasizes that roads can be closed at short notice due to the storm. – Leave the car, is the clear call to Brakstad. Vegtrafikksentralen warns drivers that they must drive carefully and according to the conditions. – If you don’t have to drive, stay at home, says Egenæs Herland. More landslides in Ullensvang On Saturday, there were also several landslides in the neighboring municipality of Eidfjord, Ullensvang. There has been a landslide at Måge, between Odda and Utne, on county road 550. The road is closed as a result. There has also been a landslide which closes highway 13 Byrkjeneset between Odda and Tyssedal. An excavator was taken from a landslide at Nå in Ullensvang on Saturday afternoon. The driver is “okay”, according to the police. There is still a landslide at the site, and the police and fire service are considering evacuation.
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Floods and landslides close a number of roads in Vestland and Rogaland. People are encouraged to leave their cars. – news Vestland
