“Hilde” hit land on Saturday 16 November 2013 and led to power outages and pregnancies. (Photo: Einar Brendboe/ Photo Illustration by ThorNews)

In Nærøy municipality in Central Norway the birthrate has increased by 70 percent from last year. One of the main reasons is the storm “Hilde” that hit land on Saturday 16 November 2013: Violent winds caused power outages and the approximately 5,000 residents of the coastal municipality threatened by depopulation had to comfort each other.

– As far as I know the birthrate has never been higher, says midwife Heidi Klingen Lauten to Namdalsavisa newspaper.

80 newborns in one year is a 70 percent increase from last year and 50 percent increase from a normal year.

Kept Warm in Bed

Many days of power outages led to cold and dark homes, and many lit up the fireplace and used candles that may have had an aphrodisiac effect.

Without television, people had to engage themselves in other ways and many went to bed earlier than usual.

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This image shows when “Hilde” hits Kolvereid, the administrative centre in Nærøy municipality. (Photo: Norwegian Meteorological Institute)

According to online pregnancy due date calculators the date from “Hilde” hit Nærøy, coincides with the increased number of births in mid-August this year.

There may of course be a coincidence that exactly these days were used for something else than playing board games and small talk, but it may be a good idea for Norwegian municipalities with declining populations to arrange “incidental” power outages.

Text by: Thor Lanesskog, ThorNews

Source: Namdalsavisa, storm.no

Categories: Nature, Quirky