It is quiet, sunny and fresh snow around the small, white church in Finnkroken. Grieving fellow villagers have lit countless candles in front of the altar and there is hushed chatter along the church rows. The priest in Karlsøy gathered the islanders in an open church on Saturday. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news – There has been a great need for a place to meet. We have had a full church all day. That’s what priest in Karlsøy parish, Idar Nordseth, says. The priest says that the islanders have a great willingness to help and care for each other. – We have nobody to lose. When the tragic happens, we see that people stand up. Unknown race site The small village of Grøtnesdalen on the island just north of Tromsø has 30 permanent residents. There should never have been an avalanche right here, but the violent avalanche that went down the mountainside just after 3pm on Friday afternoon claimed two lives, and a farm with 140 goats. Both people, animals and farms were swept out to sea by the forces of nature within minutes. The priest tells about strong meetings in the church, and people who will be affected by the incident for many years to come. Words of comfort are written from visitors in the church register. “Sad days for all of us here on Reinøya”. “Warm thoughts to those closest to you”. Many lit candles in the church. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news – I don’t know if I will feel safe The flag flies at half-mast in the town of Finnkroken. Øyvind Lockertsen has lived here for years. Øyvind Lockertsen says the local population found comfort in being together the day after the tragedy. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news Everyone knows everyone, and gets help and comfort from each other in the grief they are in. Lockertsen was supposed to go out and plow the accident section on Friday just before the landslide. The local well-known man put together the temperature, wind direction and the danger warnings and suddenly got a sick feeling in his stomach. Could landslides be in the offing, here where it has never happened before? Lockertsen decided not to plow in Grøtnesdalen after all. Soon after, the landslide occurred. – I am very happy about that, in retrospect, he says. Now he dreads the first time he will plow there again, now that he has experienced that landslides can occur in places where they have never occurred before. He believes the incident will shake the residents’ sense of security for a long time to come. – I don’t know if I will feel safe no matter where I drive on this stretch of road. It takes a lot to be able to relax behind the wheel again right there, he believes. The Norwegian Navy also assisted in the rescue operation. Here KV Bison. Photo: KV Bison/Forsvaret / KV Bison/Forsvaret – Everything completely crushed To see the landslide site afterwards, Lockertsen describes as completely unreal. He could not recognize himself, because the avalanche had taken everything. Neither foundations, houses, machines, tractors, farm buildings. Nothing was to be seen. – There must have been absolutely incredible forces at work. Lockertsen says that rescuers he spoke to said that they had never seen a building so destroyed by a landslide. – It must have looked like there was an explosion, the only thing that was intact was one roof. Otherwise, everything was completely broken, Lockertsen describes. His thoughts are now with the next of kin. – We hope they manage to get through this in a good way. We’ve lost two, and that’s two too many. The Norwegian Armed Forces also assisted in the extensive rescue operation after the alarm went off just after 15 Friday. Here you can see wreckage from the buildings that were taken at sea. Photo: Defense The mayor: – Like a nightmare The mayor of Karlsøy municipality, Mona Benjaminsen, says that it all feels unreal. – We did not see this coming at all. An entire village is affected by this incident. It all feels very unreal, like a nightmare Mona Benjaminsen is the mayor and has set up a crisis team in the municipality after the accident. Photo: Vilde Gjerde Lied She has been present together with those affected and the local community who have today gathered in the church in Finnkroken. – There is care, there is consideration, there is despair, and there is presence for each other, says the mayor about the atmosphere in the meeting rooms on Saturday. Emergency staff will be maintained until further notice The municipality established the emergency emergency staff yesterday. The mayor says members of the psychosocial crisis team from the municipality will remain on Reinøya for the time being. Several people on the stretch from Skarelva to Grøtneselv were evacuated from their homes in the same area where the landslide occurred, after the police assessed the risk of landslides in the area as very high. The navy contributed with boats for search and rescue after the landslide, along with many other vessels. Photo: KV Bison/Forsvaret The evacuees have been accommodated both in Finnkroken holiday cabins, or in Tromsø. Mayor Benjaminsen says the municipality will continue to be available to everyone in need, both evacuees and others affected. The evacuees will remain until a new assessment comes tomorrow at 8am, when the police will make a new assessment of the landslide hazard. – What will happen to the buildings at the crash site? – The probability that there would be a landslide right there is very small. When you see the consequences it has had, it becomes difficult to know what they will do in the future. The church room on the island gathered many of the local population on Saturday. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news
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Local communities in shock after two died in an avalanche on Reinøya in Troms – news Troms and Finnmark
