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Kanin Fjord Entry 10.1: Superstition Paralyzes the Town
whiteshark365 posted a City Journal entry in Kanin Fjord
August 6, 1998 – The South Port Disaster Part 1 Population: 1,101 The Gulbrandsen Family The Gulbrandsen Family is the wealthiest family in Kanin Fjord. The family can trace is ancestry back more than 500 years, during which time they have reigned as an unofficial monarch over the village. The family resides in one of the homes in Boligene på åsen. Today, Troels Gulbrandsen heads the family along with his three sons: Toke, Roar, and Birger. Troels Gulbrandsen owns both the North and South Port. His family has leased these ports for centuries. He also owns the warehouse complex on Njord’s Seaway, and half the apartment buildings in the village. Additionally, fishing boat captains must pay a percentage of their profit to the family as a term in their lease. While Troels isn’t the town burgomaster (mayor), he still has complete influence over the burgomaster. His two sons Roar and Birger sit on the city council. Troels has control over both the town’s economy and government. Troels’ rule over the village isn’t just limited to local politics and economics. His family is a strict believer in Norse mythology; therefore, he has influence over their beliefs. Troels’ grandfather was one of the leading figures in perpetuating the Sulten Skygge myth in the late 1950s. Owning the Sort Port combined with a superstitious belief, Troels’ family has refused to perform any major maintenance work on the South Port out of fear of releasing the evil spirit on the town. Only aesthetic repair was allowed. This left the port looking neglected and on the verge of collapsing into the sea. Still, despite the villagers’ constant complaints that the port needed to be rebuilt, and economic pressure to develop the port, Troels refused to give in. This was a mistake that would lead to the dramatic downfall of the Gulbrandsen family, and change Kanin Fjord’s future forever. Boligene på åsen Built in the 1700s on the highest elevation of the Kanin Peninsula. Residence of the Gulbrandsen family Disaster Strikes In the early afternoon hours of August 7, 1998, a series of large fissures opened up in Havet. A lady by the name of Baret Vågsen began driving through the South Port when the fissures gave way to a large sink hole, which swallowed Baret’s car. Fortunately, several people working at the port observed the accident, and ran towards her to render aid. The sinkhole was large, covering both lanes of Havet and was at least 7 meters in diameter and 6 meters deep. Roughly a meter of seawater filled the sinkhole floor. Beret’s car was partially submerged, and she was unconscious. Water levels were rising with the tide, limiting the time the rescuers had. Luckily she was rescued, and taken to a hospital in Stokkvågen. She sustained multiple broken bones and a mild concussion but was expected to make a full recovery. The sink hole effectively shut down the South Port. Fishing boats now had to dock at the North Port. It required more than a day for the town’s tow trucks to remove Mrs. Vågsen’s car from the sinkhole. This put an investigation into the cause of the sinkhole on hold until the next day. Throughout the next night, residents reported hearing load crashing noises emanating from the South Port. The sink hole disabled the streetlights at the port, leaving it eerily dark at night, and due to local superstition, no one would dare venture into the port at night to investigate the sounds. The next day revealed the cause of the nightly commotion. The sinkhole expanded across the road and swallowed an additional 12 meters of Havet. Additionally, 15 meters of the quay supporting the port collapsed into the fjord. New cracks were seen in Havet, the quay, and even the foundations of the industrial warehouses. One of the docks also shifted several meters and was now leaning slightly. The damage was extensive. Further exasperating matters was the presence of a large slick in the harbor, and the overwhelming smell of diesel permeating the port. The shifting ground had ruptured one of the underground pipelines connecting the port’s two gas pumps to their fuel storage tanks. Diesel fuel was leaking into the fjord. Once discovered, it didn’t take long for the town to shut off the fuel flow from the tank, but it was too late. The fuel tank was down to 10% capacity. Close to 50,000 liters of diesel had leaked into the fjord. This was now a significant environmental disaster that threatens the financial future of Kanin Fjord. Unlike crude oil, diesel does not clump into tar. Rather, it forms a thin film on the surface of the water and disperses across a large surface area. Diesel fuel spills rarely last more than 96 hours, as the diesel fuel will slowly evaporate; however, it is still toxic to sea life that comes in contact with it. Additionally, currents can mix small quantities of the fuel into the water column which can work its way to the seafloor in shallow waters. It also can contaminate beaches. Diesel does not ignite like gasoline, so there was no treat of fire or explosion; however, the evaporation of the fuel presented a more immediate concern for the town. Such a large volume of diesel evaporating was creating an invisible toxic cloud. Depending on the direction of the winds, this cloud could expose most of the town to toxic fumes. People working at the South Port were already experiencing severe nausea and disorientation from the smell of the vapors. South Port prior to the disaster The port is quite rundown and dilapidated. Kanin Fjord Shuts Down – August 8, 1998 Wind and currents were rapidly spreading the diesel spill throughout Kaninfjord and into Hjortfjorden. All ship traffic on both fjords was immediately halted, including the grounding of the entire fishing fleet. Even the Engavågen ferry had to cease operations. Businesses had to close, while residents were instructed to stay in their homes with all windows and doors closed to avoid the fumes. A superstition had managed to effectively bring all commerce in the town to a dramatic halt. Fear and anger quickly swept through the town. The Conspiracy Once Troels Gulbrandsen became aware of the extent of the disaster, him and two of his sons began contemplating how to minimize the damage. Troels believed that simply abandoning the South Port would be best to prevent the Sulten Skygge from being released. He had no intentions of rebuilding the port regardless of the economic consequences to the town. The problem with the collapse of the port wasn’t just the damage to the port itself, but also the fuel spill, which Kanin Fjord was ill equipped to handle. Troels knew that diesel fuel would eventually evaporate; therefore, he concocted a plan to isolate Kanin Fjord for at least a week, allowing the spill to clean itself up. Fortunately, for his plan, no supply ships were scheduled to dock in that time. He could focus all of his attention to blocking E220 and shutting down the ferry line into Engavågen and Stokkvågen. His sons were dispatched to begin the process of closing E220, while the fuel spill grounded the ferries at the North Port. Once the spill evaporated, Troels’ was going to restart the town’s economy and pretend that nothing happened. Toke Gulbrandsen traveled to Engavågen to shut down E220 five kilometers east of the village, while Birger Gulbrandsen shut down E220 just before the Inngjerdingen Farm. Troels went even further and instructed the town constable to keep residents from leaving town. In an even more extreme attempt to cover up the disaster, Troels had the phone lines shut down so people couldn’t contact relatives or authorities outside of town. His plan also included silencing residents by threatening their jobs and even evicting anyone leasing his apartment buildings. It All Falls Apart For all the scheming and nefarious methods in which the Gulbrandsen family used to attempt to hide the disaster, the reality was that the fuel leak was simply too large to hide. The plan quickly unraveled, and Kanin Fjord was thrust into the global spotlight in an unflattering way. First, the roadblock on E220 in Engavågen failed. Norwegian safety inspectors traveling to Kanin Fjord to perform some final safety checks on the ferry terminals encountered the roadblock. Inspectors have the authority to go through any type of roadblock, and when Toke refused to let them pass using the excuse there was a landslide blocking the road, the inspectors were suspicious called in the authorities. Once Norwegian police arrived, they promptly ended the roadblock and arrested Toke for interfering with the operation of official vehicles and unlawfully blocking a national roadway. The roadblock on E220 near the Inngjerdingen Farm was successful for a few hours longer, but the large volume of trucking traffic being turned back to Stokkvågen was attracting attention in Stokkvågen. Police from Stokkvågen were dispatched to investigate this suspicious road closure. Unlike Toke, Birger did not attempt to stop the police from proceeding, still he was cited for blocking a national roadway. Once authorities reached the town, the cause of the suspicious roadblocks became apparent. The stench of diesel permeated the town and most of the fjord was covered in a slick. Multiple cleanup crews were called in to contain the spill, which was large enough to make international news. News crews from around the world descended on the town while cleanup crews did their best to contain the fuel. Investigation into the cause of the spill exposed the corruption and negligence of the Gulbrandsen Family to the entire world and revealed how religious beliefs led to a massive environmental disaster. It didn’t take long for Norwegian authorities to arrest Troels. He and his two sons were charged with multiple crimes, ranging from safety violations, conspiracy to cover up an environmental disaster, to threatening citizens. Additionally, the government ordered the family to pay for the cost of cleanup along with multiple fines, which essentially bankrupted the Gulbrandsens. The 500-year rule of the Gulbrandsen Family had come to a spectacular end. Not only did the family’s rein end, the power of the town’s religious sect was significantly weakened. Norse Worship Site The hall was built in the mid-1800s, while the stone circle was constructed in the 1960s in an attempt to replicate the grandeur of Stonehenge. Coming Soon: Part 2 – Aftermath and Reconstruction- 2 Comments
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