Asta Bente and Nils Gunvald Hamre are among the total of five people who have been evacuated. This afternoon it became clear that the police are extending the evacuation until Wednesday. A new assessment must then be made. Bad weather has been reported in Western Norway. Asta Bente and Nils Gunvald Hamre sat quietly and watched TV last night. Just after 9 p.m. they heard a huge crash. – It sounded like the nut fell down. Then I jumped up and went outside, says Nils Gunvald Hamre. It was dark and he brought a lantern with him. When he opened the front door, he smelled earth and stone. – I understood that it had been intense stuff, he says. The married couple Asta Bente and Nils Gunvald Hamre were evacuated and have spent the night in a hotel. They had the landslide very close to them on Saturday evening. Photo: Tale Hauso The house stands on the lower side of Europaveg 134. On the upper side there are two garages. When he came across the road, he saw a huge rock on top of the garage. Several witnesses news has spoken to have described the stone as “bigger than a car”. – Then I felt chills all over me. The geologist and the municipality are on site. Photo: Tale Hauso On Saturday morning, municipal geologist Tore Dolvik is at the town. He estimates that the largest stone is between 10 and 20 cubic meters in size. At 2 p.m., he was up in a helicopter looking at the mountainside. – There are things up there that I am unsure about. Most likely it is less than what has already come down, but I am a little unsure. Municipal geologist Tore Dolvik. Photo: Tale Hauso Evacuated the area The couple contacted the police. They came to the city together with the mayor, emergency coordinator in the municipality and contractor. At 11.30pm on Saturday evening, it was decided that the houses in the area should be evacuated. The mountainside has been investigated by a geologist from a helicopter. Photo: Tale Hauso / news – Then I packed the most essential things and traveled, says Asta Bente Hamre. Three residences were evacuated. This is confirmed by Stig Hope, who is responsible for emergency preparedness in Ullensvang municipality. After the geologist has made his assessment, the municipality has concluded that the couple and their neighbors should still stay away from their homes. – I’ll wait a bit. It is unlikely that it will come down more, but it can happen, says geologist Dolvik. He points out that a lot of rainfall has been reported in the future, and that this has been included in the assessment. Stig Hope in Ullensvang municipality. Photo: Tale Hauso There are listening guards at the site E134 is temporarily open, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration informs. There are no stones in the road. A stone has stopped just before E134. Photo: Ullensvang municipality / Ullensvang municipality – There is manual routing and listening guards at each end of the road, says Idar Sangolt in the Norwegian Road Administration. The listening guards listen for rumblings from the mountain sides. – And there is a low threshold for closing the road, so to speak. While the mountain side was checked, the road was closed for periods of up to 20 minutes. – Then I had to close because helicopters can trigger several landslides. Heavy rain may be the cause Municipal manager for technology and the environment in Ullensvang municipality, Randi Karin Habbestad, says that there have been strong forces at work. – Here they have been lucky. The large rock could hit both the house and the garage. Steinane has stopped just before E134. Photo: Tale Hauso / news After the trip in a helicopter, the geologist has gained a better overview of the area. – The release area is high up in the hillside. There have been quite a few blocks, says Dolvik. He says that because the landslide is less than a hundred cubic meters in size, it is classified as a rockfall. – Is it all the rain in the last few days that has triggered this? – The rainfall has most likely had an effect and caused it to collapse. But then it was on the flip side. It would come sooner or later. A safe night The evacuated married couple Hamre have spent the night in a hotel. It’s not far from home, but it feels safer there. The couple Hamre said that they were quite shaken on Saturday evening. Photo: Tale Hauso – It was not easy to sleep last night, says Nils Gunvald Hamre. – Although it feels safer here, it was difficult to find peace, says Asta Bente Hamre. They have lived together in Hamre for over 30 years and have never experienced a landslide before. He, who has lived there for large parts of his life, thinks that perhaps a similar stone came in 1952 or 1953. – This is not an everyday occurrence. They are clear that when the geologist gives the go-ahead, they will go home. – We can’t let it affect us any further. If they say it’s safe, then I’ll move home. But it’s easy to talk. Another thing is to do it, she says.
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Steinras in Røldal in Ullensvang – news Vestland
