A Preparedness System for Natural Hazards Management on Norwegian Roads

In Norway, in both mountainous and coastal areas, roads are exposed to natural hazards such as snow avalanches, landslides and floods. Each year 1500-3000 landslides and snow avalanches are registered on public roads. Over the years, The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) has developed a preparedness system for natural hazard management, based on close cooperation with other governmental agencies and an open data policy. This paper aims at presenting how the NPRA manages its road network in the context of natural hazards, with an emphasis on communication between contractors and the NPRA through the ELRAPP application, which allows contractors to assess and report natural hazards. The application has contributed to an increase in both the contractors’ and the NPRA’s awareness on natural hazards in general, and snow avalanches in particular. More awareness and knowledge on landslides and other natural hazards is called for.