Norwegians were being warned to prepare for more rough weather, especially along the west coast, as another storm moved in from Iceland on Tuesday. Heavy rain was predicted in the counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane.
It’s the latest storm to batter Norway in less than a week, and was expected to disrupt train and ferry traffic once again. State meteorologists and highway officials were also broadcasting warnings on national radio Tuesday morning, urging motorists to be extremely careful while out driving because of slick roads, potential flooding and landslides.
Still mopping up from last storm
Residents from the southern tip of Norway all the way to Tromsø were still mopping up after the extreme weather that hit late last week and over the weekend when the new forecasts came in. Damage assessments were rising rapidly and maritime officials warned of debris floating along along the coast and inside fjords, after the weather system known as “Berit” tore boats loose from their moorings, crushed buildings along the waterfront and sent anything loose flying.
The new storm isn’t predicted to be as severe but caution was advised all the same. “We’re expecting very strong wind, even though not as strong as the extreme weather we’ve just had,” Beate Tveita of Storm Weather Center told newspaper Aftenposten.
No sign of Sunday’s victims
Anne Solveig Andersen of the weather service Værvarslinga på Vestlandet also said it would be “a wet week” with lots of wind. Website bt.no reported that the amount of rain due to fall in Bergen on Tuesday alone would roughly equal half of all that fell over the past 30 days.
While rain was due to pour down along the coast, snow was expected in the mountains. Travel advisories were also posted for most mountain passes in southern Norway.
Meanwhile, a major search and rescue effort off the coast near Egersund failed to find two young men who were swept out to sea while trying to film the storm on Sunday afternoon. Police have released the identities of the two men, 27-year-old Daniel Henriksbø and 25-year-old Mats Bjarg, both of whom are now presumed dead.
Views and News from Norway/Nina Berglund
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