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WEATHER

UPDATE: Water breaches dam at flooded power plant in eastern Norway

Water has breached the dam at the Braskereidfoss power plant in eastern Norway which became flooded on Wednesday.

Pictured is the Glomma river in Norway.
A power plant on the river Glomma has flooded after flood gates failed. Pictured is a stock photo of the Glomma.

Parts of the dam at Braskereidfoss began to collapse after it flooded earlier on Wednesday. Public broadcaster NRK reports that the dam started to collapse at 4:30pm.

The power plant flooded after a floodgate at the facility failed, and the dam began to overflow.  Police had earlier considered a controlled blast to try and improve water flow but ruled the option out.  

“You can see that the damage from a possible explosion… would be so great that it would serve no purpose,” Fredrik Thomson from Innlandet police said. 

In addition to the police, a bomb squad from the Norwegian Armed Forces and crisis staff attended the scene. 

Police fear that the bridge at Braskereidfoss could collapse. If the dam were to burst completely, Merete Hjertø, operations leader of the Innlandet police district, said there would be no danger to residents. 

The Braskereidfoss plant is in Våler municipality in Innlandet, about 30km south of Elverum. The plant is located on the river Glomma. 

Hjertø said that everyone who needs to be evacuated has been. Norwegian newspaper VG reports that 10-15 homes have been evacuated.  

Norway’s justice and emergency preparedness minister, Emilie Enger Mehl, also attended the scene at Braskereidfoss.

“I am grateful to everyone who is working now to limit the damage and to prepare for what could happen if the dam were to burst or if there was a greater flow of water,” Mehl told reporters.

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WEATHER

Weather alert for torrential rain and thunderstorms issued in Norway

Another weather warning for parts of Norway was issued for Tuesday after Oslo received half a month's rainfall in 20 minutes on Monday.

Weather alert for torrential rain and thunderstorms issued in Norway

More heavy rain is expected in eastern parts of Norway on Tuesday evening. Around 12 millimetres are expected, and a yellow weather warning has been issued.

On Monday, parts of eastern Norway received 42.7 millimetres of rain, the monthly average for May being 60 millimetres.

The heavy rain flooded streets and some basements in parts of the capital.

The public has asked to avoid swimming in Oslo’s harbour areas after the rain due to the presence of intestinal bacteria.

A yellow warning has also been issued for lighting in eastern Norway. The public has been asked to unplug appliances and avoid open plains and large trees. Swimming has also been discouraged.

Around 30,000 and 40,000 lightning strikes were registered in Norway over the past 24 hours.

During a yellow weather warning, the public is asked to “be aware” of “challenging situations”.

READ MORE: What Norway’s weather alerts actually mean

Below you can see a forecast posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute

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