– It was a dramatic eye-opener for us, because it hit all the major valley roads from the east, says director of roads in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Ingrid Dahl Hovland. Like several others, the road director is shocked by the turn of the storm. – And that it was clear that it was demanding – that it was such a large area, says Hovland. Earlier, among other things, King Harald expressed that “Hans” was worse than expected, during a visit to the flood-prone Mjøndalen in Viken. – I didn’t think this would be as bad as it was. I have to admit that. But this has been very serious, said the king. Considering building differently Operation and maintenance at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration is in the process of leading a project that will provide an evaluation of “Hans”. During the work, critical sections must be mapped. Furthermore, this may have something to say about how the roads will be built in the future. The road director says that the climate changes and destruction after “Hans” means that they will probably have to build the Norwegian roads in new ways. LOOKING AT NEW OPPORTUNITIES: Director of Roads in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Ingrid Dahl Hovland, will consider whether to build new roads where the flood caused the most damage. Photo: Hege Kristin Hagen – It may well be that we will do it. That we should not re-establish exactly as it is today, or exactly as the route is today. But there are assessments that will now be made in the project that operations and maintenance lead, says road director Hovland. – It will be wetter, the climate will be wilder. It is clear that we then have to deal with it with a different robustness in the road system than what we have seen now, after “Hans”. She adds that they will introduce “correct measures” so that we do not end up in a similar situation again. Whether this means that they will build the roads higher up, or create new building solutions is unknown. DAMAGE: County road 2910 through Rukkedalen in Nesbyen municipality. The river Rukkedøla has dug out the road. Photo: Tordis Gauteplass / news Major destruction after “Hans” “Hans” has left behind major damage, following floods, landslides and floods in several places in Norway. Entire housing estates have been under water, and both the railway bridge and dam have collapsed. THE COLLAPSE: The railway bridge over Gudbrandsdalslågen at Ringebu collapsed on Monday when one of the bridge pillars gave way. Photo: Lars Skjeggestad Kleven / news Not least, several roads have become unrecognizable after the extreme weather “Hans”, and 114 roads have been closed in southern Norway. The counties of Innlandet and Viken are particularly hard hit. The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) recently discovered a three meter deep erosion hole in Hønefoss. This means that several of the evacuees will probably not be able to go home for several months. DISCOVERY OF EROSION HOLE: The blue area shows an erosion hole at the bottom of the Randselva. Illustration: NGI Increasing need for flood protection So far, the extreme weather has caused insurance damage to an estimated NOK 1.7 billion. The need for preventive flood protection is increasing, points out the Norwegian Directorate of Water Resources and Energy (NVE). – We think it is expedient for society to spend more money on the preventive work so that we are better prepared, says director Brigt Samdal for the landslide and watercourse department in NVE to Klassekampen. GOL: The Hallingdal river floods in Gol camping center earlier in August. Photo: Tordis Gauteplass / news In a letter NVE sent as input to the state budget in 2019, they asked for NOK 850 million extra in the four-year period 2021-2024, according to the newspaper. In a new letter in 2022, this sum had increased to NOK 1.78 billion. The water is changing Extreme weather “Hans” brought rainfall amounts we have not seen for over 100 years. – It is almost an understatement to use the word extreme, says climate researcher Hans Olav Hygen. The large amounts of water from the extreme weather “Hans” are also washed down the waterways, and flow into the Oslo Fjord. According to marine scientist Lars-Johan Naustvoll, both organic material and nutrient salts are released into the Oslo Fjord after the flood. There is now a big difference in the salinity in the Oslo Fjord, compared to a year ago, states the Institute of Marine Research (HI). THE OSLO Fjord: Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen as well as Oslo City Hall with parts of the center of Oslo seen from the Oslo Fjord. Photo: Erik Johansen / NTB He explains that after previous floods they have seen an increase in nitrogen, phosphate and partly silicate. These nutrient salts can provoke algal blooms. When blooming, algae can produce toxins and contaminate drinking water, according to FHI. Got sick Several boat owners in Gjøvik got vomiting and diarrhoea, probably due to contaminated flood water, Oppland Arbeiderblad wrote on Tuesday. Several bathing water samples showed that the water quality was very poor, and had high values of E.coli bacteria. How big the consequences will be after “Hans” is not yet clear, but the Institute of Marine Research is working with forecasts. – It is important that we keep a close eye on the state of the environment in this vulnerable coastal area, says marine researcher Naustvoll.
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– Dramatic eye-opener – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
