– There is extensive clean-up work. There are heavy masses of snow, and a wide avalanche that has crossed the road. So says Tord Bentzen, construction manager in Troms and Finnmark county municipality. He leads the work to clean up the avalanche debris from county road 7908, after the avalanche that occurred on Friday 31 March. A residential house and a barn were taken by the landslide, and the married couple who lived on the farm lost their lives in the landslide. The more than 100 animals on the farm also perished. – It is a small environment out here on Reinøya. There are close relationships between those who carry out the work and those who have died in the landslide. The landslide is addressed with dignity and respect, and in a calm manner, says Bentzen. The couple who lived on the farm and over 100 animals perished in the landslide. Photo: August Hansen / news Major clean-up work Above the road, the snow masses are a couple of meters high. In addition, there are remains of buildings and dead goats, but much of the farm was dragged out to sea by the landslide. On Monday, civilians and the Coast Guard cleaned up around 150 cubic meters in the sea. Two excavators, a tractor and a wheel loader are used to clear the road. Photo: Tord Bentzen/TFFK – But there is a lot of material and animals that have to go before we can open the road, says Bentzen. There are 30 permanent residents living in Grøtnesdalen, and on Tuesday still not everyone has returned home after they were evacuated on Friday. In addition to the road being closed since the landslide, the landslide also led to a power outage in the area around the landslide. Material, goats and large amounts of snow must be cleared from the road. Photo: TORD BENTZEN/TFFK – This means that what they come home to are cold houses, perhaps frozen water pipes, and are in any case without electricity. It is probably not easy for them to feel comfortable going back then, says Leif Hovden, municipal director in Karlsøy municipality. – Must take into account the risk of avalanches – We are a municipality that is strongly affected by the risk of avalanches, in the sense that there are mostly red danger maps over all our islands in some villages, says the municipal director. He emphasizes that it must be taken into account, both when it comes to building houses and permanent residents in existing housing estates. Leif Hovden, municipal director in Karlsøy municipality, says that several villages in the municipality are exposed to avalanches. Photo: August Hansen / news – It must be done in a way that ensures that people are reassured that there is good enough mapping that has been done, and that there is no risk to life and health that they live where they live, says Hovden. The municipality has ongoing work with avalanche protection in Vannvåg, which is the most landslide-prone village in the municipality. There, a new mapping of landslide-prone places has been started.
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– Being recorded with dignity and respect – news Troms and Finnmark
