Norwegian Landslide

In the early hours of December 30, 2020, a major landslide left Ask, a residential area, completely devastated and destroyed. Having occurred around 40 kilometers from Oslo, the capital of Norway, the authorities quickly declared a national disaster. Police and emergency services were shocked as the first few calls of help were received around 4 in the morning.

Ask, and especially Norway, are known to have a bad history with earth movements. Most recently, in early 2020, there were a series of small landslides that caused relatively less destruction in parts of North Norway. In 2019, there was an instance of a village that was split in half by a landslide. All these sudden earth movements are due to the composition of the ground under the majority of Norway. Quick clay is a type of clay that is usually stable and solid until there are even the slightest movements, which causes it to liquify and collapse the land above.

As the ongoing search and rescue operation continues, it’s unclear as to how much loss of life there has been. Emergency forces are continuing to find any possible life that they can, yet the hope is diminishing as weather conditions and land instability prevent the involvement of humans as ground forces. Technology and drones have been currently scanning the areas in any search of life forms, as well as a few dog search teams.

To help, see some of the charities below:

https://www.lifeinnorway.net/shocking-landslide-near-oslo-destroys-homes/