Ceiling parts have come loose from the University Hospital of Northern Norway in Harstad. The hospital is on red alert. – Larger parts of the building appear to be damaged than first thought, and it is uncertain how this will affect ordinary operations in the next few hours. Work is being done on mapping, reports UNN. At 13:45, UNN reports that employees are asked to remain at the hospital as long as the situation is unclear. – UNN has established a dialogue with Harstad municipality, and works closely with UNN in Tromsø and Narvik to ensure patient safety. Crisis management at UNN Tromsø also established, they write. The police are cordoning off the area around the hospital and restricting traffic, they say. They say that everyone must stay indoors in Harstad. No one should be injured in connection with the incident. There are building materials everywhere at the hospital. On X, UNN writes: – For patients who have an appointment at UNN Harstad for the rest of the day: These have been cancelled! The University Hospital of Northern Norway in Harstad is on yellow alert after parts of the roof have come loose and are blocking off the helicopter landing pad. – Ceiling tiles are strewn A patient tells news that ceiling tiles are strewn around a large area at the hospital: – Large tiles flew past my window on the 5th floor, and ceiling tiles are strewn around a large area, and we have all been told to keep us at ease inside the hospital for the time being, says the patient to news. Communications manager in Harstad municipality Øivind Arvola tells news that it is dangerous to stay outside due to flying building blocks and poor visibility. Since half past twelve the wind has picked up strongly in Harstad. At the same time, there will be large amounts of snow. – It has partially taken the roof of UNN Harstad, we have a number of homes that have lost roofs, and in addition, wall panels have blown away at Hålogalandshallen. Several stretches of road are also closed. Check vegvesent.no for updated information. Earlier on Thursday, Harstad Tidende wrote that the municipality is asking parents and guardians to collect the children from school and kindergarten. Now they turn. Arvola in the municipality says to the newspaper that it is because of the recommendation from the police to stay indoors. – All children and pupils will stay at school/nursery until further notice. It is safe to be at school/kindergarten. We do not recommend picking up children/students yourself. We will stay open as long as necessary, and everyone has returned home safely, he writes to the newspaper. The municipality states that they will provide more information when the pupils can be picked up. The wall disappeared from the sports hall This is what it looked like inside the Hålogalandshallen after the wall panels blew away: Photo: Jan Hugo Berg – We were outside the building and were securing something else, and then a strong rossa came and loosened two of the walls of the football hall in Harstad, says hall master for Hålogalandshallen Jan Hugo Berg. Berg says that they had to drop everything they had in their hands and escape to safety. – It took so long that we were unable to get out and secure the loose items. They flew every which way. He points out that the hall is quite centrally located in Harstad, and that there were people in the area. – We were worried that someone might get hit by something. Photo: Jan Hugo Berg They therefore contacted the emergency services. – It’s so dense with snow that we actually can’t see if we’ve managed to secure all the loose objects, he says to news just after 1pm. – Do you have control now? – No, I don’t want to say that. We have gained control over what we are able to see. But no, I wouldn’t say we’re completely in control yet. Thousands without power According to the network company Noranett, 9,800 electricity customers are without power in Nordre Hålogaland at 1 p.m. Outer coastal currents outside Harstad, such as Grytøya, Bjarkøy and Kasfjord are without current. Parts of Ibestad, Tjeldsund and Evenes are also affected. – Right now we are in the middle of the worst weather situation for many years, says network director at Noranett, Øyvind Strøm. – We have pulled in all fitters from preparation, because it is dangerous to be outside. He says large areas are now without electricity. – Large parts of outer areas, especially around Harstad such as Bjarkøy, Tjeldsund, Evenes and Ibestad, have subscribers without electricity, he says. You can follow the electricity situation in these areas on Noranett’s website.
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– Greater damage than first thought – news Troms and Finnmark
