The storm Ingun hit Norway with wind gusts of more than 193 km/h. Households in central areas woke up without power and a bus was blown off a road northeast of Bergen. None of the 14 passengers was injured, police said, Sky News reported.
Some areas were flooded, and hurricane-force winds forced airlines and ferry operators to temporarily suspend services. There were reports of closed schools, as well as closed roads, tunnels and bridges.
Several windows were also broken at a hotel in Bodø in the Nordland district, where police issued a "danger to life" warning in the town centre. Bodø is located north of the Arctic Circle.
According to the local newspaper Avisa Bordland, a police cordon has been set up around the centre of Bodø.
The hospital in Harstad has also suffered damage. Pictures in the Norwegian media show a helicopter landing pad littered with debris.
"Roof tiles are flying all over the city and visibility is poor," city spokesman Øyvind Arvola said.
The storm, described by Norwegian meteorologists as the country's most powerful in three decades, settled in the central Scandinavian country on January 31 and moved north on February 1.
The Meteorological Institute issued a red warning, the highest level of alert, for the Arctic region.
According to media reports, the country has set a Norwegian record for average winds.
In the town of Kvaloyfelet, in the municipality of Somna, a wind speed of 54.4 m/s between was measured, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported. This equates to 193 km/h..
An average wind speed of this magnitude is equivalent to a category three (major) hurricane. / BGNES
