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18 HANS J. RØSJORDE
building trends in the 1970s and 1980s was characterised with the installation of only
electric heating. What are those living in such houses supposed to do in winter if
there is electric power outage and outside temperatures of -30
o
C?
Society meets new challenges and increased risks as a consequence of ongoing
intensified urbanisation, be it fire, floods or man-made risks associated with
criminality or terrorism. This demands new types of risk analysis, plans for public
security and safety, mitigation and response plans for potential crises, and robust
local communities.
The role of local councils
The system of local borough councils in Norway provides the foundation for national
planning and preparedness in matters of public safety. This should ensure that local
communities are safe and robustly protected against natural hazards. By law, the
councils are obliged to map and prepare for potential unwanted and unforeseen
events and evaluate the risk levels they represent. As required by the Civil Protection
Act, such preparedness needs to be summarised in a “Risk and Vulnerability
Analysis” (“ROS-analyse” in Norwegian).
A survey performed in 2014 displays a positive progression in such analyses
compared to a similar investigation in 2012. Most councils are working
systematically on natural hazards and public safety. However, there is still some
work needed, as some councils have not yet fulfilled the requirements defined in the
Civil Protection Act. Every council, irrespective of size, must identify their risks and
plan accordingly. One problem in Norway is that many of the smaller councils
administer sparsely populated areas, and yet with a high potential for natural hazards.
In this context, the County Governor has a particularly important role, not
least as the supervisor of council activities. I would emphasise the importance of
building and development plans. We know that homes, houses and larger buildings
in many parts of the country are already built on unsafe ground, in locations that
hardly would be considered as building sites today. We have seen several recent
examples where better planning could have prevented or at least minimised mishaps
and disasters. In particular, I am thinking of landslides, mud-flows, rockfalls and
floods, e.g. those in Bergen and Namsos.
Another challenge is that Norway has many road and railway tunnels and
bridges built through or on problematic ground. We recently experienced the
disastrous collapse of a bridge pillar involving a large, relatively new, major bridge
construction on one of the busiest highways in southern Norway. This accident
fortunately caused no loss of human life, but resulted in very substantial repair costs.
There is an urgent need for continued research into soil and rock stability and their
consequences for major construction work to avoid accidents and disasters. Several
research groups and organisations are focusing on such aspects. This topic will be
addressed in more detail in this book.
The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection is required to maintain a
complete overview of risks and safety issues in Norway and to present an annual