Another powerful late-winter storm was causing all kinds of trouble in Nordland County and especially Vesterålen and the Lofoten archipelago on Wednesday, where strong winds overturned trucks and cars, closed bridges, cancelled ferries and left thousands without power.
The Easter holidays were not getting off to a good start Wednesday afternoon, especially for a large trailer-truck full of fresh fish bound for export that was swept onto its side while crossing the Risøyhamn Bridge in Vesterålen. The driver was uninjured, but the salvage job was enormous, complicated by the cargo of fish.
“It’s the devilish wind that’s the problem, in addition to sleet and snow that doesn’t exactly make things better,” Remi Johansen of the Nordland Police told state broadcaster NRK.
Ferries were cancelled between Lofoten and Bodø, and several bridges connecting its islands were closed. Winds were so strong at Unstad on Lofoten that a van parked in a lot was swept up and landed on an adjacent vehicle.
Storm warnings were also up in Nord-Salten and Southern Troms, at Hamarøy and Steigen. Avalanche warnings were posted as well, as officials implored people to refrain from any mountain trekking. “This is not the time to tempt fate,” Karsten Müller of the avalanche warning service Snøskredvarslingen told NRK.
newsinenglish.no staff
