Dam in Norway partially bursts after days of heavy rains, with downstream communities evacuated

A dam partially burst on Wednesday following days of heavy rain that triggered landslides and flooding in mountainous southern Norway, a police official said. Communities downstream already had been evacuated, Report informs via ABC News.

The Glåma, Norway’s longest and most voluminous river, is dammed at the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant, which was underwater and out of operation.

Authorities initially considered blowing up part of the dam to prevent communities from getting deluged. But the idea was scrapped since water later broke through the dam, police spokesman Fredrik Thomson told reporters.

“We hope that we will get a gradual leveling of the water and that we will get an even leveling.”

Huge volumes of water were pouring over the western parts of the dam, Thomson said.