Ten people were injured, five were hospitalized (one of them was very serious), and 15 were missing after a landslide broke out in southern Norway earlier today (30.12.2020) and destroyed a dozen homes. Police had to evacuate around 700 residents over an area of around 21 hectares.
The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, but no tsunami alert was issued. In addition to the dilapidated buildings, many houses on the edges of the crater are formed by landslides on the verge of collapsing in a vacuum. Earthworks did not stop all day.
– This is a disaster, said Prime Minister Erna Solberg after visiting the place. “There may be people trapped, but we can not say for sure, because many people may have left their homes because we are on New Year’s holiday,” he said. Politicians who admitted that the rescue work takes a long time. Authorities did not say if anyone was dead.
Rain and clay soil
Many houses were destroyed when the races broke. Police said on Twitter that the evacuation was carried out with the help of emergency services, civil defense and the army. – It is impossible to defend oneself without the use of helicopters, Solberg added, because the terrain is very unstable and getting there can endanger the lives of the rescuers.
“The two had tremors for a long time and I thought they were snowing or something, but then the power went out and a neighbor came to tell us we had to evacuate, so I asked my three grandchildren to wake up and get dressed. Fast, ”he said. Neighbor. The NRK station said that heavy rains in recent days had softened the soil in the area and that there was a possibility of landslides.
DZC (Reuters, AFP, EFE)
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
No icebreaker
For a long time, only adventurers and explorers traveled through the Arctic. But now that the ice is melting, merchant ships can go there too. August 29, 2008 A turning point: for the first time, the Northeast and Northwest Passages are free for navigation without the need for icebreakers. Since then, this period has been very long.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
From the Atlantic Ocean through the Arctic to the Pacific Ocean
The northeast pass is 6500 km long and runs from Asia through Russia and Norway, and connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Northwest route, which is a bit short. In both directions, the ships cross the Bering Nest and cross the Arctic Ocean. This is only possible if the ice cover does not block the path.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
The options are many
To travel from Rotterdam to Tokyo, jump through India and then through the Suez Canal in Egypt. The voyage is more than 6000 km across the lake via the Northeast Passage. Ships from Asia to the east coast of the United States pass through the Pacific Ocean and then the Panama Canal. Once again, the northwest route is 4,000 kilometers shorter.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
Pioneers
In 2009, Beluga sent the Reader to German cargo ships for the first time via the Northeast Route. Since then, shipping in the area has increased. The Arctic Ocean has not been traveled much because the route is only temporarily vacant, said Burkhard Lemper at the Department of Economics and Logistics in Bremen.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
Free way
It is difficult to say how far warming at the North Pole will go. But “everyone is the only one that the Arctic will be free in the next 30 to 50 years,” said Christian Haas at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven. Scientists describe the Arctic as free when the surface shrinks to less than 1 million square kilometers in summer.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
How long does the calm last?
Biologist fears wildlife in Arctic. For example, in July, U.S. researchers at the United States Academy of Sciences reported that white whales, bowhead whales and walruses are endangered. They examined a population of 80 marine mammals and found that more than half of them live along the northeast and northwest passages.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
Very special residents
Researchers fear that Norwich may experience the effects of maritime transport in the Arctic Ocean. Marine mammals are always on the ice near the coast. The male spiral tooth is excellent, measuring up to 3 meters. Here is a life-size replica of the Ozinium Aquarium in Strollsund, Germany.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
Antarctica is an example
Researchers and environmentalists demand that guidelines be set for maritime transport in the Arctic: Ships should avoid large whale populations, change sailing times to meet sub-migration, and reduce noise and speed. “It’s not in the Arctic yet, and that’s a big difference from Antarctica,” said Greenpeace biologist Christian Bussau.
-
Climate change: More than 10 years of travel through the Arctic
Calm before the storm?
According to Greenpeace expert Busau, only 50 ships pass through the routes northeast and northwest a year. The German Shipowners’ Association talks about the double-digit number. “But time is short,” Bussau said, adding that “in the long run there will be a lot of movement in the Arctic.” But so far there are no environmental regulations for shipping in this area.
Author: Brigitte Osteroth