Norway’s southern city of Kristiansand was hit hard Friday afternoon by torrential rain that was prompting city officials to call in civil defense forces. Flooded tunnels on the E18 highway that runs through the city forced their closure at around 5pm.
Emergency crews were summoned to help evacuate motorists who unwittingly drove into the Banehei Tunnel that flooded very quickly. Their cars stalled and they needed help to get out.
Officials also closed the Oddernes Tunnel because of what they called “enormous” amounts of water. Calls were also pouring in from homeowners whose cellars were filling water, “but we have to put a priority on dangerous situations first,” Hans Arne Madsen of Kristiansand’s emergency service told state broadcaster NRK.
The rain was pouring down elsewhere in the southern region known as Sørlandet, with the bad weather moving north and east and also expected to pound the Oslo area and elsewhere in the southeast on Friday night and Saturday.
newsinenglish.no staff
