Strong wind in Norway disrupts power supply

Several thousands of residents in Troms reeled on Wednesday under early winter cold after a gale-force wind, which hit the northern Norwegian county a day earlier, disrupted power supply to their homes. At least 10,000 houses in the Norwegian county experienced a blackout on Wednesday morning, reported the Norwegian broadcasting company NRK. The powerful wind, which started on the weekend, also affected air, sea and land transportation as Tromso Airport was closed on Tuesday in addition to cancellation of ferries services. The wind was of such force that two buses were blown off the road. But no one was injured in the accidents, according to the NRK report. Battling high waves, the vessel "Nord-Norge" of Norway's famous coastal cruise liner Hurtigruten was forced to return to Hammerfest from her Bergen-bound voyage. About 250 passengers on board of the cruise were asked by the captain to either sit down or lie down. Crews on board were called to go from cabin to cabin to check passengers for any injuries. The Norwegian Coast Guard vessel "Andenes" was damaged after it ran aground near Lenvik in Troms in the storm and she managed to reach the Tromso harbour with 67 people on board in the early hours of Wednesday. A new storm warning prompted the energy company ConocoPhillips to transfer 157 oil workers from the Ekofisk oilfield platforms in the North Sea as a precaution. The company said that it is monitoring the development of the low pressure area, which is expected to hit early on Friday morning. The NRK report said that BP is considering moving people from the North Sea oilfield following the weather forecast that the southern part of the sea will likely come under the influence of winds with hurricane gusts. Tuesday's storm also forced closure of roads and highways in Troms and the western part of Finnmark, the northernmost county of Norway. The western coast city Aalesund was also hit hard, leaving thousands of homes without electricity. In the Akershus County, which is near Oslo, dozens of trees were uprooted, crashing into houses, blocking roads and tearing down power lines.