Norwegian authorities evacuated thousands of people on Wednesday, 9 August, due to heavy flooding caused by a breached dam.
A gird failure stopped the dam’s generators from working, which should have triggered an automatic floodgate opening. However, the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power station’s floodgates failed to open and caused heavy flooding.
Picture: Unsplash
Armed forces were first called in to assess whether explosives were needed to open the dam. The action was postponed when water began bursting through the dam’s sides along the Glomma River, reported News24.
Helicopters were deployed to help emergency services assist those stranded. Evacuations were carried out along the rising river, and efforts were made to reduce water pressure at the station. Many areas were severely impacted by landslides and flooding, prompting a crisis response from authorities.
Operator Hafslund stated that the situation wasn’t extremely severe, and water diversion through the embankment dam seemed to be progressing well.
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