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FromVictoria Krumbeck
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Persistent rainfall has led to flooding in Austria. Landslides and mudslides continue to threaten many houses. The situation remains serious.
Leibnitz — Heavy rainfall in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia has been causing flooding for days. Slovenia is battling the worst storm in 30 years. Several people have already died. In Austria, the federal states of Styria and Carinthia are particularly affected by the floods. Numerous streets and houses are under water, mudslides and landslides aggravate the situation. The districts of Southeast Styria and Leibnitz were declared disaster areas.
Severe weather in Austria: “Catastrophic” situation in Styria
The situation in Leibnitz is dramatic. Dozens of emergency services and volunteers have been on duty since the weekend. “We’ve never experienced anything like it. That has never happened before,” said the winemaker Hannes Sinemus from nearby Kitzeck today.at. “Several roads and a slope are affected on my mountain, but down in the valley the water masses came almost overnight – catastrophic,” he described the situation.
A dam broke in the Austrian Heimschuh, flooding the whole place. “An acquaintance is with his business, the oil mill, in front of a rubble field and has 1.4 million euros in damage,” said the winemaker. In St. Johann im Saggautal, just a few kilometers away, a mudslide broke out on Sunday night (August 6th), taking an entire house with it. Another house was then washed away and the roof of another was removed. The residents of the affected houses could be alerted in time, as Kleinezeitung.at reported.
Floods in Austria: disaster declared in Styria and Carinthia
In response to the storm, the district authority of Southeast Styria formally declared the disaster for the entire district on Sunday afternoon, wrote Kleinezeitung.at. For the district of Southeast Styria, around 237 landslides were recorded by the state warning center. A total of at least 320 landslides were reported as of Sunday. The state of Styria announced that water pipes were broken and the water from 65 wells was not drinkable. Several communities were cut off from the outside world over the weekend.
According to the APA news agency, the water levels in Carinthia and Styria fell on Monday morning. The situation is serious nonetheless, as landslides continue to threaten residential areas in several locations. More than 300 people had to leave their homes in both federal states due to the risk of landslides. (vk)
List of rubrics: © Erwin Scheriau/dpa
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