– I have never seen the man. Water is scary, says Rune Skjolden in the Red Cross. He is located in a roundabout, which is usually a very central access road to Mjøndalen. There are large amounts of water there and closed to cars on Tuesday morning. Rune Skjolden has not seen similar bodies of water in Drammen in his 66 years. Photo: Tina Brock There are now fears that the flood protection in Drammen may fail. The water level is higher than during extreme weather Hans, and is now 3.2 meters above sea level. Drammen deployed a crisis team on Sunday and has set up flood defenses of three and a half meters around the Drammenselva. 3.2 meters is the critical limit for what the municipality can tolerate. If it exceeds that number, the flood protection no longer holds. Emergency manager in Drammen municipality, Sten Petter Aamodt, says the Drammen River will rise until Thursday. Only then will it retreat. The flood causes problems for the morning traffic in several places. In the morning hours on Tuesday, there is quite a queue in and out of the capital, in connection with a landslide at the Abildsøkrysset in Skullerud in Oslo on Sunday. – We are now waiting for the geologists to say that it is okay to open. It causes some delays in and out of Oslo with two-way traffic in a field, as long as it is ongoing, says Anne Hårstad, traffic operator in the East Traffic Center to news. After the geologists arrive on site, clean-up remains. It is unknown how long it will take. South of Oslo, motorists must expect to spend extra time on both the E18 Mosseveien and the E6 past Abildsø. In addition, several county roads have been affected by the flood, states the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Buskerud in Viken is particularly hard hit, and the flood peak may come on Tuesday. – There are gravel roads in particular that are partially or completely washed away, due to the amount of water, says Hårstad. – In addition, we have a number of rivers that run very high and cause a number of local problems. The water is moving down towards the fjord, and that is what causes a lot of problems where it may not have rained that much, says the traffic operator. Canceled night train to Oslo S from Bergen The night train to Oslo S from Bergen was canceled due to water in the track at Gol and Ål on Monday evening. – You can’t get to Oslo by train at night, but if you have a pram or recliner you can sleep at Bergen station, said Åge-Christoffer Lundeby, communications manager at Vy. One of the families that used that offer is the Colombo Baez family from Spain. – We had to book a flight tomorrow morning to Oslo, so that we can catch the plane that will take us on from there. Tonight we will sleep on the train, says eldest daughter Africa Colombo Baez. Lundeby confirmed that it was a popular offer, and that several people took advantage of being able to sleep on the train, even though it has been cancelled. The Colombo Baez family from Spain slept at Bergen station last night. Photo: Sissel Rikheim / news The family from Spain is satisfied with how Vy has handled the situation. – You cannot control the weather. I am glad we received an email from them in good time, and that they are giving us the opportunity to sleep on the train, says father Roberto Colombo. – But if we hadn’t found a plane ticket to Oslo, it would have become complicated, he adds.
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