800 assignments in one week

In early August last year, Oslo was hit by the heaviest rains in 30 years. Tunnels flooded and roads were blocked, causing gigantic tailbacks. And basements quickly filled up with water. A disaster was in the making. Even more so, since the Oslo Fire and Emergency Department issued a statement that they lacked the capacity to answer all the incoming calls. Homeowners in urgent need of help were asked to contact their insurance companies.

August is a holiday month in Norway, so most of the Polygon staff was away. But when they realised the size of the disaster they gladly returned to base immediately. To handle the large number of assignments, Polygon Norway was also forced to hire new temporary staff. After a short and effective introductory course they were ready to take on the challenge. 

Under normal conditions during the week in question, the Norwegian Polygon organisation is typically involved in around 40 cases of water-related damage. This week, more than 800 incidents were reported! To cope with this extraordinary challenge, more than 150 dehumidifiers and 200 fans were immediately delivered from the Polygon Centre of Excellence for Emergencies – our Eurostock – in the Netherlands. They were in full operation within less than two days after the outbreak of the disaster. Meanwhile, Polygon specialists from other Norwegian regions and manpower reinforcements from the Swedish Polygon organisation were knocking on the door, asking how they could help.

After working 16 hours a day for more than a week, most of the urgent problems were solved and the staff
was able to go home for a well-deserved rest. Then … suddenly … the National Theatre in Oslo was hit by an accident. But that’s another story.