Press
Severe storms with heavy rain and thunderstorms swept across Austria and Italy. There was even a tornado in Graz. Pictures online give an idea of the extent.
Vienna – Floods have caused enormous damage in recent days, and not just in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. Severe storms also raged in neighboring Austria and Italy on Tuesday (May 21st). In many places, people had to contend with floods and landslides.
“Streets and underpasses flooded”: Storms rage in Austria and Italy
There were numerous missions in the southern Austrian state of Styria. The fire brigades had to pump out cellars and clear away fallen trees. “In some cases up to 80 liters fell there within a few hours. This led to streams overflowing their banks, streets and underpasses were flooded, houses, residential buildings, but also other infrastructure such as sports fields, kindergartens, company buildings,” said a spokesman for the state fire brigade association Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).
A tornado even swept over Graz, the capital of the federal state. Loud GeoSphere Austria The tornado was classified as being on the lowest level of the Fujita scale – i.e. below 117 kilometers per hour. The tornado was over after just a few minutes, but it still ripped off roofs and uprooted trees. Pictures and videos on social media show how the tornado swept across the west of the city. Eyewitnesses in Germany also recently reported a tornado.
Dozens of firefighters in action: Storm causes millions in damage in Italy
The district of Waidhofen on the Thaya River (Lower Austria), among others, was also affected by the storm. Emergency services were in constant use to pump out full basements and secure flooded streets. According to the District Fire Brigade Command Waidhofen an der Thaya There were 128 firefighters on site. The masses of water pushed open manhole covers and flowed from fields and meadows into the towns. In the municipality of Dietmanns, a street was flooded by 30 centimeters and the mud that was carried along blocked the sewage system.
The northeast of Italy is also struggling with storms. Veneto, among other things, was “tested by the rains of the last few days,” said the region’s president, Luca Zaia. The soil can hardly absorb any water. Floods and landslides have already caused traffic chaos. Sections of roads and railway lines had to be closed. In the agricultural sector, damage from the storm is estimated at around 50 million euros, the Italian broadcaster reported Rai News 24.
And that’s not all: the rainy weather continues in Italy. According to the broadcaster, Lombardy, Veneto, Liguria, Tuscany and Sardinia were affected on Wednesday (May 22nd). In Austria, too, there is again rain and thunderstorms in the south and west of the country. In Germany, the low pressure area is moving further north after severe storms in the southwest of the country. (cheese)
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