Landslide monitoring and history

There are five different types of landslides; rockfalls, landslides, mudslides, avalanches, and underwater landslides in the fjords and on the continental shelf.

The most famous landslide in our area is referred to as the Tafjord accident. This landslide occurred when Langhammaren collapsed into the fjord on the night of 7 April 1934.

You can also read more about the landslides here:
Fjellskred i Norge
Norges største fjellskred

On the night of April 7th, 1934 the small rural communities of Tafjord and Fjørå faced a massive disaster. A huge landslide of around 3 million cubic meters triggered a tsunami in the fjord, killing 40 people when the 17 meter high wave hit land. This was a great tragedy for the people along the fjord, one can hardly imagine the devastation that was revealed when the sun rose that morning.

The center has created its own exhibition and educational experience on the Tafjord Accident, which we call “Dommedagsfjellet- a journey through time”. This exhibit is open every day.

You can read more about the Tafjord Accident here.

A lot has happened since 1934. We have to live with the danger of landslides, but by 1986 monitoring of the unstable mountain area of Åkneset in the Stranda Municipality began. In 2001 Heggurdaksla in the Norddal Municipality was also included in the monitoring.  Åknes/Tafjord Emergency Surveillance Center was established in 2008.

Since 2008, the Emergency Surveillance Center has played an important role in monitoring dangerous mountains in several places all over Norway, including the Mannen mountain located in theRauma Municipality. The company is located in the Strada Municipality in Sunnmøre and is owned by the municipalities of Strada, Norddal, Rauma, Stordal, Ørskog, Sykklven, Ålesund, and Møre Romsdal.

On January 1st 2015, Åknes-Tafjord Beredskap IKS was incorporated into NVE, section for landslides. The Hydro-power and Landslide Center in Tafjord and NVE have entered into an agreement to share the information that is collected in connection with the monitoring. The result of this can be seen in the Landslide Hall. Visitors can also see how the monitoring system works and see the cracks expand on both the Åknes and Mannen mountains.