The hurricane in Ersfjorden swept away the entire warehouse on Wednesday. Now the “Bryggejentene” have a battle against the clock to get everything secured before the storm comes again.
On the pier below the Bryggejentene interior cafe, there is a mountain of furniture and merchandise with a thick layer of snow on it. Down at the bottom of the gray sea below the jetty you can make out white summer furniture. A curious otter is about to explore the new surroundings.
– It doesn’t feel good, it doesn’t, says general manager Trude Lorentzen and looks out over the snow-covered pile.
Before 5pm on Wednesday, everything was safely placed from rain and snow inside the warehouse.
– I realized what had happened four minutes past five. With one throw, the inventory was gone. The whole building was lifted up, roof and all, and then it flew to the side.
When VG spoke to her shortly after the ravages of the hurricane, she said that she was “in shock”.
A battle against the clock
Lerøy caught the incident of the 150-square-meter shed turning into stickwood on a surveillance camera, but they do not want to release the video.
What was once a shed now lies in the sea and on the shore just beyond. An excavator is in full swing clearing away the remains.
– What is important for us now is to secure everything before the next weather arrives, says Lorentzen and points out towards the ocean, which looks like a white wall.
– I almost feel that I am abusing the time by standing and talking. We have little time and a lot of work to do before the wind comes and it gets dark. It’s a race against time.
– Where are you going to dispose of everything?
– Now some containers have arrived, and then we’ll see what we do. We are in contact with the insurance company, and will decide what to do next from there. Now we first have to get everything secured.
– We live in a fantastic village
On Wednesday evening, Fire and Rescue and volunteers tried to “save what can be saved”, but they had to give up due to the storm. The wind was so strong that it was not advisable to carry out security work.
– Several people in the village have said that they want to help, so I will try to mobilize now. We live in a fantastic village, says Lorentzen.
– Do you know how much value has been lost?
– I have no overview of that. I haven’t been able to see through what is here, and a lot has taken a hard hit. Much has probably ended up in the sea as well, and beyond the shore. I’m very glad no one was hurt on Wednesday, it’s just coincidence really. People are at work and tourists travel here, says Lorentzen.
Winds of 40 m/s the gusts are far from something they experience every day in Ersfjorden. One of the natives that iTromsø talks to says that he has not experienced such weather since he was young. Neither has Lorentzen.
– It has been a very long time since I have experienced such weather. That the weather would tear away the warehouse is something I absolutely did not think would happen, she says.
