Large amounts of water to cause ‘the Man’ to tumble

the Man mountain area rauma nveThe man is an unstable mountain area located on the west side of Romsdalen in Rauma municipality, Møre og Romsdal. The man is part of the three kilometer long Børa-Mannen complex. The Man, Mannen. Photo: Tore Bergeng/NVE

Large amounts of water to cause ‘the Man’ to slide out

When after all appearances it once again comes a red danger level for ‘the Man’ (Mannen) in Romsdal, large amounts of water are to contribute to that parts of the unstable mountain area tumbles down.

 

– It will be exciting to see what we can achieve, says Lars Harald Blikra to NRK. He is Chief Geologist in the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).

He and his colleagues are now preparing to pump water from a lake behind ‘the man’ into three large tanks. Thereafter, water is injected through the hose into fissures in the mountain area. This will be done when the movements are substantial and people at risk are evacuated.

– We do not know what the outcome will be. Nobody else has done such a thing before, Blikra admits.

Planned for a long time

Blikra presented the plans during the national rock fall conference on Stranda in Møre og Romsdal in September last year. Mayor Lars Olav Hustad of Rauma says that it is unclear how much of the ‘Little man’ itself, which is the part of rock area which is about to slide out.

– The measure is an attempt to loosen the upper part of the outcropping. The suspense is how big the rock slide will be, but it will no doubt involve the upper part that moves the fastest, says Hustad to local newspaper Romsdals Budstikke.

In October 2014, people below the mountain party were evacuated for fear of a rock slide. The same occurred in September 2015 and in August of last year. It is uncertain when it will happen next.

– It’s impossible to say. However, the effort on water supply can not be completed until August. The ice must melt from the lake before we can start, he says.

Eleven residents live below ‘the Man’

There are eleven people living below the mountain.

– Of course, the residents are very interested in the measure. They are happy about everything that can make it easier for everyday life, and want measures that can result in rock slide, says Mayor Hustad.

Facts about the mountain area ‘The Man’

  • The mountain is 1,294 meters high and is located on the western side of Romsdalen in Rauma municipality in Møre og Romsdal, 44 kilometers southeast of Molde and 13 kilometers south of Åndalsnes.
  • ‘The Man’ is part of the 3 kilometer long Børa-Mannen complex.
  • Veslemannen (The little Man) constitutes a smaller part of the unstable mountain area. This area is between 1,100 and 1,200 meters high and has a volume of between 120,000 and 180,000 cubic meters.
  • The mountain is highly susceptible and has been continuously monitored by Åknes / Tafjord Preparedness IKS since 2009.
  • In October 2014, several houses and holiday homes under the mountain were evacuated for a period of time. Geologists feared that the big slide would occur, but the unstable mountain area calmed down.
  • in September 2015 and August 2016 there were evacuations when the danger level was raised to red.

The next time people are evacuated, the plan is to pump water into fissures in the mountain and in thereby make the upper part slide out.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today