The situation in the storm areas in Austria is dramatic. Numerous towns are cut off from the outside world. There is no respite.
Graz/Klagenfurt – Severe storms have been accompanying Austria, Slovenia and Croatia for days. Persistent rain has caused flooding. The Federal Foreign Office advised travelers from Germany in the affected areas in Austria to “observe the regional weather and traffic information”. Road closures are to be expected.
Further rain and storms are expected until Monday (7 August). The situation in the southern federal states of Carinthia and Styria is particularly critical. Already on Friday (August 4th) within twelve hours as much rain fell as on average for the whole month of August, explained meteorologist Hannes Rieder from GeoSpehere Austria. But the ground can no longer absorb the water masses.
Severe weather in Austria: These regions have been hit particularly hard
Loud oe24.de Disaster alert applies in 16 communities in Styria. In Carinthia, five out of ten districts were affected by flooding, reported Salzburg news. The regions of Voitsberg, Graz, Deutschlandsberg, Waiz, Leibnitz and Southeast Styria were particularly hard hit. Pictures and videos on social media show the extent of the storm damage.
Only in Southeast Styria are loud Inside Graz 41 landslides have been reported. Numerous people had to be evacuated, many of them staying in emergency shelters. In Lavamünd, too, completely soaked slopes began to slide and threatened residential buildings. In Leibnitz, a retirement home had to be evacuated as a precaution.
“Gosdorf is completely flooded,” said Franz Konrad from the Mureck fire brigade on Saturday (5 August). Small newspaper. “I was in a house there today, people are desperate. The water was 40 centimeters in the bedroom and in the children’s room. Everything is gone: floor, furniture. And if you open a kitchen drawer, water will run out there too.”
Severe weather alarm in Austria: Hundreds of firefighters in constant use
The level of the rivers and streams has dropped in most areas of Styria. On the other hand, the level of the Mur river rose significantly, said hydrologist Janez Polajnar, according to the Slovenian news agency STA. In neighboring Slovenia, a dam in the river to protect against flooding broke on Saturday evening.
“If the water starts to carry away the soil, the dam will collapse immediately and the tidal wave will hit nine or ten villages,” warned civil protection commander Srecko Sestan. Attempts are now being made to seal the dam with concrete blocks by helicopter. Tourists are still missing in the Adriatic country.
There is therefore no break for the emergency services. More than 2,500 firefighters were on constant duty in each of the federal states, as well as dozens of soldiers. Severe storms also raged in Croatia. Larger floods that were forecast did not initially materialize on Saturday. But there was no clear all-clear. Severe storms also swept through Italy. Hailstorms and supercell thunderstorms caused temperatures to drop in the holiday country. (kas/dpa)
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