The matter summarized The meteorologists hit well with the weather forecast, which made it possible to assess the extent of the damage earlier. The Swedish Road Administration made good decisions by closing more than 40 roads to avoid landslides and mudslides, and reopening them when it was safe. Floating fences were set up by the municipalities around rivers and lakes that are known to float over, and proved to be effective. People were well informed about the extreme weather due to early warning. Public agencies have become better at working in teams in extreme weather. A clear warning from the meteorologist helped to prepare for and handle the situation. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Jakob” ravaged large parts of Western Norway on Thursday and Friday. The large amounts of rainfall led, among other things, to Odda in Hardanger becoming completely isolated. In Øvre Årdal in Sogn, around 100 people were evacuated overnight on Friday. It was not until Saturday evening that the last evacuees at Lofthus were allowed to move home. The material damage is extensive, and closed roads for many days created difficulties for several Westerners. But to top it all off, what actually went well during the ravages? 1. The weather forecast hit well Perhaps most important of all: The meteorologists hit well with the forecast. news has looked at hydrological weather data from the last few days. History shows that the meteorologists manage to hit the mark quite well when they first report extreme amounts of rainfall. The graphic below shows the actual rainfall that came from Monday to Thursday this week. The red areas received a minimum of 40 mm of rain during the day. And they hit better today than just a few years ago. – We are able to see earlier where the weather will hit. It also enables us to assess the extent of the damage earlier, says on-duty meteorologist Emily Carin Rønning at the Meteorological Institute. The orange danger warning for flash floods and landslides for parts of Western Norway was already clear on Tuesday. This meant that municipalities had plenty of time to prepare. – We get better and better models. If this had been a few years ago, we would have notified the whole of Western Norway, but now we can rule out large parts. It saves society from expenses, says state meteorologist and coordinator at the Meteorological Institute Geir Ottar Fagerlid. 2. Good road assessments Over 40 roads have been closed due to the storm. This has been done to make sure that road users are not caught in landslides or become stuck. It has proven to be correct in all cases, according to department director Svenn Egil Finden. The Edna bridge in Ullensvang municipality broke from the large masses of water. The bridge is on county road 550 between Odda and Utne. Photo: Roar Svåsand The heavily trafficked highway 13 between Leikanger and Sogndal was closed on Thursday afternoon until early Friday morning. An emergency route by boat was then set up to get commuters home. Hjortlandsvegen in Åsane in Bergen was closed due to large amounts of water. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news A lorry was taken off the E16 in Gudvangen. The driver was fine. Erdal bridge was crushed by masses of water, stones and wood. The bridge must be demolished and rebuilt. Although closed roads can cause trouble, it has been important to avoid cars and people being swept away. Finden himself believes that the efforts of the Swedish Road Administration deserve a roll of the dice so far. – We cannot see that there is anything we could have done differently, as it has been now, he says. The Swedish Road Administration believes that they have also been quick to open roads when it has become safe. The bridge that broke on Edna in Ullensvang was replaced in record time. The clean-up work in Hardanger is now in full swing after the violent extreme weather this week 3. Flood fences work Around rivers and lakes that are known to flood, the municipalities took measures even before there were critically high river levels. In just an hour and a half, Aurland municipality put up 150 meters of floam fences along the Flåmselvi river on Thursday evening. – No water got into the cellars, and the fence works as it should, says mayor Kjell Bøe Bjørgum on Friday morning. Most recently in 2014, the Flåmselvi overflowed, which caused extensive damage to houses. At Voss, they put up the fence around exposed buildings when the danger warning was at orange level on Wednesday. They did this in about two hours. On Wednesday morning, the technical agency at Voss set up the fencing around municipal buildings along Vangsvatnet. At the time, the danger warning was still at orange level. Photo: Voss herad On Thursday evening, Aurland municipality put up a flood fence along the Flåmselvi when the water flow was about 150 cubic meters per second. On 180 cubic metres, the municipality has decided that the fence must be in place. Photo: Kjell Bøe Bjørgum Mayor of Aurland says the crew is well acquainted with how they install the flaum fence and that it is important that it is easy to use. 4. People were well informed On Tuesday morning, the emergency manager in Vestland, Haavard Stensvand, received a message from NVE. He then called various bodies to a collaborative meeting. – The special thing about “Jakob” is that we received the warning early. Sometimes there is a short time between the warning and the storm, says Stensvand. He believes that most people were well informed about “Jakob” because danger warnings had been sent out well in advance. Hotel manager Aleksander Grieg at Hotel Ullensvang had a river through his hotel reception on Friday morning. The hall is empty. The damage shows. Cleaning is in full swing at the Ullensvang hotel after the extreme weather “Jakob”. The floor has suffered extensive damage. Many on the move. He has looked back to see if there was anything they could have done differently. – I honestly don’t think so. Me was very well prepared. The forecasts were very precise, the municipality’s preparedness was good, we had been out and looked at all our bins. – We were well aware that this could happen. But when such large amounts of water come, I don’t think it is possible to stand against the forces of nature. 5. Good teamwork Public agencies have become better at working in teams in extreme weather, according to Erlend Moster Knudsen. He is head of the department for climate adaptation and hydrodynamics at Norway’s Geotechnical Institute. Teamwork is good between municipalities, notification services, NVE, Civil Defense and DSB, according to Knudsen. But the climate scientist says we are not well enough prepared for extreme weather. This includes, among other things, flood and avalanche protection. – We are going in the right direction, but at the same time climate change is happening a little faster than what we are aiming for, he says. Climate change leads to more frequent extreme weather. – We can make a lot of money from prevention. We have a lot to gain there. Photo: Malene Laura SolheimPhoto: Malene Laura SolheimNVE sends out a red danger warning for landslides and mudslides. The municipalities were given plenty of time to prepare. Photo: Malene Laura Solheim 6. Clear warning from the meteorologist In 2023, the institute will issue more than 1,000 danger warnings. But very rarely are the forecasts extreme, like this week. From the first notification internally at the Meteorological Institute, it takes around two hours before all government agencies are notified that there is danger on the road. All recipients must then confirm that they have read and understood the notice. Published 03.11.2024, at 16.53 Updated 03.11.2024, at 16.55
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This went well during the extreme weather “Jakob” – news Vestland
