– I heard a huge crash and saw a black wall of mass coming straight at me.
Vigleik Åkre had only been working in the excavator for a few minutes when the landslide came thundering towards.
The main road on Måge between Odda and Utne in Vestland overflowed on Saturday afternoon, and the excavator driver had to leave the river on the right track.
But he never got that far.
This landslide took the excavator and Vigleik Åkre with it.
Photo: Amund Maage
– I just managed to turn the machine all the way around and put the rear end before the crash came. I think it saved my life, he says to NRK.
– So fortunate that it is almost not allowed
The entire 23-tonne machine was swept downwards.
– It went downhill. The light disappeared, the windows were broken. Stone, masses and snow came thundering in.
After a while the machine stopped.
– I felt unbelievably lucky when I felt that I was fairly well and could try to get out.
Åkre managed to get out, but he fell to his life in the fall. He kept getting pulled under by the masses and therefore got back up into the excavator.
But the fear of new races made him get out again and down to safety.
There were also new breeds in the meantime, but he did not get over them.
Åkre is bruised after the incident, but just as well.
– I have been so lucky that it is almost not allowed.
Åkre works for the contractor company Ullensvang Entreprenør. The company had storage space in the area where the landslide occurred.
– In a matter of seconds, the whole company was washed away. Now soil, mud, water and stone have taken most of it with them, says daily manager Joakim Måkestad to NRK.
He says it was luck that there was no life.
The crash came thundering right at home
Close to the landslide, the Førde family witnessed the forces of nature.
The massive avalanche thundered down the mountainside – barely 20 meters from their home.
– Never in my wildest imagination did I think it would go so wrong, says Joar Førde to NRK.
This snow and slush avalanche thundered down the mountainside right next to the home of the Førde family. 18-year-old Thea filmed the whole thing.
– We felt the house shake and only saw the water splashing up the house.
He and his daughters were evacuated by fire and rescue crews.
Joar Førde and his daughter Thea are at Utne hotel, evacuated from their home.
Photo: Tale Hauso / NRK
A total of nine people were evacuated. They are all from the extended family of Førde.
Also at Eitrheim outside Odda in Ullensvang, two people in a household have been evacuated.
County road 550 is closed after the landslide. Over 20 stretches of road in Western Norway are closed as a result of the storm.
NVE extends the danger warning for floe, landslides and mudslides on Sunday.
Joar Førde and his daughters Arja (3) and Thea (18) in a hotel after they were evacuated from home.
Photo: private
– Enormous forces at work
The family at Måge in Ullensvang are used to it collapsing around them, but yesterday it got extra bad.
Vigleik Åkre sat in this excavator.
Photo: Joakim Måkestad / Private
– We heard several small crashes, but then it started to slow down a bit more. Often it builds up a bit. Then it will be pure ragnarok, says Joar Førde.
Førde’s son and roommate was not at home this Saturday and did not experience any of the drama.
The landslide destroyed a power station on the way down the mountainside, and trees snapped like matches when the landslide came.
– There were enormous forces at work, he says.
The road up to their home has also been destroyed. It is unknown how things are going with their house.
Daughter Thea (18) films the race that thunders by.
– The worst part was seeing the excavator that was swept away by the landslide, says the father of three.
It is not known how long the evacuation will last
Mayor of Ullensvang, Roald Aga Haug, says they are taking care of all the evacuees.
– It has been quite dramatic. I am happy that it went so well and that no lives have been lost, he says.
Eleven people have been evacuated in Ullensvang municipality.
Photo: Tale Hauso / NRK
It is unknown when the evacuees can return home. But the evacuation will probably last the rest of the day.
Shop owner Joar Førde was actually supposed to be open on Sundays today.
But instead it will be hotel life at Utne.
Joar Førde’s extended family were all evacuated on Saturday. Now they are in a hotel until they can go home. From left: Anny and Leif Ola Måge, Joar and Arja Førde, Leif Arne Måge, Thea Førde, Solveig and Lillian Måge.
Photo: private
But he and his daughters Arja (3) and Thea (18) are not complaining:
– We get good food and just have a good time. The only thing is that I’ve run out of snuff, but that will probably work out, Førde chuckles.
Banned from home
The family of Stine Mari Opedal Berg in Tyssedal has also been affected by the landslide in Western Norway.
The family of five had to spend the night with friends after they couldn’t get home because of a landslide. On the left: Stine Mari Opedal and her husband Ronnie Andre Horne Moe. Sofie Mari (7), Sander Nathaniel (19) and Emil Tukun Moe (20).
Photo: Private
The family was in Opedal Berg’s hairdressing salon in Odda to get the Christmas clip on Saturday.
– Just as I was about to lock the door to the salon and go home, we heard the thunder, she says.
The family understood what was about to happen, but hoped they would make it home. But on the way to Tyssedal they met cars with flashing lights.
It turned out that a landslide had gone down the mountainside and closed the road.
– It’s clear that you think about what could happen if you were to be hit by a landslide, but at the same time you become aware that it is the way it is, she says.
For the family, even the fact that they had to sleep with a couple of friends last night.
The municipality has set up a boat shuttle so that the rascals can get to and from Tyssedal, so now the family is home again.
2023-12-17 15:23:20
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