Flood waters rise to orange danger warning after heavy rains, causing evacuations, road closures, and power outages in parts of Agder, Vestfold, and Telemark.
The snowfall that came in the relatively mild Christmas season, was followed by severe cold and has caused the snow to freeze to bark and needles on conifers. The snow that now comes, settles on the branches in thick layers and is becoming heavier to carry.
The tide of mud and clay destroyed as many as 14 houses in Ask in the municipality of Gjerdrum, some 30km north of Oslo. Hundreds were evacuated and police said 21 people living in the affected area were still unaccounted for. The landslide area is known for its "quick clay", a form of clay that can behave more like a liquid than a solid when disturbed. It is thought heavy rain in recent days may have caused the soil to shift.
Experts fear the future could be like the record year 2020: Shorter and warmer winters, wetter summers.
Nearly 1,000 water damages have been reported following the heavy rainfall night to Sunday.
Several trains have been delayed and canceled due to the storm.
On Wednesday, a new precipitation record was measured in Oslo with 22 millimeters in 10 minutes. "We had expected rain showers, but not that it would be so heavy," says state meteorologist.
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