Norwegian Arctic Area to Be Evacuated Due Deadly Avalanches

HELSINKI—Norwegian authorities said Saturday they would evacuate an area in northern Norway where avalanches and landslides have killed four people, including tourists from Slovenia and Italy.

Norwegian police tweeted that the decision was based on a recommendation from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and would affect several parts of the Arctic municipality of Tromsoe.

Four people died and one person was critically injured in three separate avalanches in the area on Friday.

Norwegian news agency NTB said a ski tourist group from Slovenia was caught in the middle of an avalanche, and one of its members—a man in his 40s—was killed. An Italian male skier in his 30s and a Norwegian man and woman in their 60s also died, the agency said.

Police said a house and a barn were dragged into the sea, and several roads were cut.

New avalanches and landslides were reported in the Tromsoe area on Saturday.

Police advised residents and visitors to stay indoors. A local chapter of the Red Cross said it was monitoring the situation and was prepared to provide food and medicine by snowmobiles and sleds in a case residents in the area’s small villages get isolated due to avalanches.