Hurricane-force winds and high seas caused lots of damage over large areas of Norway on Friday. The train line between Oslo and Bergen was halted after trees fell over railroad tracks and roads, and local communities were setting up crisis teams to deal with all the trouble.
The area from Gjøvik north to Lillehammer was perhaps hardest hit, with 18,000 households and businesses without power. In the mountain area of Valdres, an estimated 7,000 customers lacked electricity. Telephone and emergency networks were also down in many areas of Vestfold, Telemark, Viken and Innlandet.
The situation was so unstable that local officials in Flå in Buskerud parked an ambulance in a central area with blue lights flashing to serve as an emergency medical station. All local airports had to close, as did many roads, bridges and ferry lines.
See photos of the damage on state broadcaster NRK’s website here.
newsinenglish.no staff
