Over 200 flood victims evacuated in western Norway

Over 200 flood victims evacuated in western Norway

OSLO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 people were evacuated on Tuesday night from the flood-affected areas after three days of heavy rainfall in the western Norwegian county of Hordaland.

The evacuation from Flaam, a popular destination for tourists in summer months, was carried out as the flood water rose to a dangerous level in the Flaam River and a dam on the river has a risk to burst, reported the Norwegian news agency NTB.

"There is a risk of dam breach due to heavy flooding down the Flaam valley," an unnamed local police officer was quoted as saying.

Many roads and at least two bridges were submerged under flood water, making the evacuation a difficult operation for civil defense personnel.

Another village, where 80 residents live, was cut off from the outside world as the roads were under water.

As many as 32 roads have been closed in the three western Norwegian counties of Sogn and Fjordane, Hordaland and Rogaland. Among them is the E16 highway linking Oslo and Bergen.

The nearby Voss area was the worst hit by the flood in 200 years.

"It has been raining hard for three days in a row. Especially in the Voss watercourse, it has turned to the full. The water volume is the largest since records began in 1892, " said Elin Langsholt, a Norwegian hydrologist.

The level-four flood warning, the highest in Norway, has been issued for Voss.

Emergency meetings were held in the Voss municipality to discuss how to monitor the situation.

A number of places in Voss had problems with power supply.

Several sites in the three counties recorded over 100 millimeters of rain from Monday morning to Tuesday morning. Enditem