Minister Gjelsvik made several stops, including Hamar, Lillehammer and Gausdal. The purpose of the visit was to look at the damage caused by the storm and to hear how municipalities and individuals experienced this drama.
After the meeting in Hamar, Gjelsvik continued on to Lillehammer where he was greeted by the district president, Aud Hove. She met the minister at Vingnes in Lillehammer. There, Gjelsvik had the opportunity to see the efforts being made to remove the problematic items that the water had thrown into Lake Mjøsa.
“Once again, I am impressed by how people get involved. When the Randsfjordferja ferry needed to be landed, our crew immediately got involved in cleaning up Mjøsa,” said county president Aud Hove.
From Lillehammer, the journey continued to Gausdal, where many roads and private properties were affected by flooding in the Innlandet region.
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The minister also had the opportunity to meet representatives of the commune, entrepreneurs and other people who put effort into limiting the damage and saving what could be saved.
In addition to the district president, section manager Arne Fredheim, unit manager Trond Røstadstuen and site manager Kristian Skjellerudsveen attended the meeting with Gjelsvik. They have all been working almost around the clock, dealing with the dramatic situation on the trunk roads in the Innlandet region for the past week.
“As we reconstruct stretches of road that have suffered severe damage, it is important that we take the time to consider what is most appropriate in the context of future weather events. We need to increase the dimensions of the pipes, perhaps move the route of the road during repairs. And we need to coordinate our work with Statens vegvesen, municipalities and private entities,” Fredheim told the minister.
About 60 national roads were still fully or partially closed on Sunday afternoon. Also, 38 bus lines did not work.
There were also new reports of landslides along several national roads on Sunday. The roads in Brumunddal, Hamar, Lillehammer and Gjøvik were closed due to flooding in Lake Mjøsa.
Drinking water is secured
According to the municipality of Lillehammer, as a result of the extreme weather conditions "Hans", a lot of polluted sewage from several municipalities ends up directly in Lågen and Mjøsa. Therefore, keep a distance from the water and its shore, this applies to both people and animals. It is also very important for those areas where the water has already receded or will recede, because the sewage will still remain on the ground.
Lillehammer Municipality's drinking water is sourced from groundwater, not from Mjøsa. Nevertheless, drinking water samples are taken regularly. Additionally, as a preventive measure, the municipality also started water chlorination on Wednesday, August 9.
Most roads are now open. However, there are still detours in some places. For travelers, we recommend information on the Statens vegvesen website.
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Source: fylke Innlandet, Lillehamer kommune
Photo: Wojtek Sobieski
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