As much rain in a few hours as usually in a month. Roads blocked, trains stopped

Meteorological services and civil defense have been warning residents of threatened areas for several days to secure their homes and prepare for evacuation. On the night from Monday to Tuesday, more than 100 liters of rain per square meter fell in southern Norway in some places, which is as much as it usually falls in an entire month.

The most difficult situation is in the Innlandet and Akershus regions. The international route E6, which runs from Oslo north, has been blocked by mudslides and landslides. Authorities are trying to set up diversions, but the situation on side roads is no better. The most important tourist resort in the region, Trysil, has been partially cut off from the rest of the country after a landslide buried the main access road.

Rail traffic between Oslo and Trondheim has been suspended. Mudslides have torn off tracks in many places. The operator of the Bane Nor network warns that a decision on the return of trains to the routes will only be made after receiving an opinion from the geological services.

Many schools had to cancel classes.

The state weather service says Norway has the worst behind it. “The main wave of precipitation passed us around 9:30 on Tuesday,” Sigrid Auganaes of the Oslo Meteorological Institute told VG.

Norway hasn't seen such heavy rainfall since August 2023, when the Hans low hit the southern part of the country. At that time, two people died in floods and several thousand residents were cut off from the world. Dozens of bridges were torn off. The rising water also broke the Braskereidfoss dam.

Last year's losses were estimated at over 3.5 billion crowns, or currently less than 1.3 billion zlotys.