Norway Continues to Evacuate Residents from Flooded Areas

Following severe rain caused by odd weather patterns, Norway experienced more floods and evacuations as rivers flowed past their banks to their greatest levels in decades.

According to authorities, more than 4,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in southern Norway.

Almost half of them, up from around 3,000 people on Wednesday, are in Hoenefoss, a town located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Oslo.

Landslides, heavy rain, and strong winds caused damage to electricity lines and halted public transportation earlier this week across the Nordic area.

Norway evacuates more people from flooded areas as rain ends

Wednesday saw the collapse of a hydroelectric river dam as water forced its way through, while earlier this week a train derailed in neighboring Sweden as a result of floodwaters washing away a railway embankment.

Authorities issued a warning of further flooding on Thursday, despite the fact that rain has ceased, as the water rushes towards lower-lying coastal districts.

On Thursday, major highways were closed and rail services were suspended in large portions of southern Norway.

Ingvild Villa, a meteorologist from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (NMI), predicted that flooding will continue to be an issue for a few more days.

In reality, El Nino, a cyclical climate phenomenon, has been fueling heatwaves and flooding around the world this year.

Still, Sillmann, a contributor to reports by the UN panel of climate experts, said it was impossible to determine whether this was also the cause of the most recent occurrences impacting the Nordic region.

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