Hörbranz landslide

Wallner pledges money from disaster fund

The earthmoving work in Hörbranz has still not been completed.

(Bild: Maurice Shourot)

After a slope in the Vorarlberg municipality of Hörbranz started to move violently around a year ago and several houses have been uninhabitable ever since, Governor Wallner has pledged financial aid. 

Around a year after the landslide in Hörbranz, the affected areas are still not suitable for building or habitation. The final decision of the torrent and avalanche control authority is still pending. Nevertheless, Governor Markus Wallner assures those affected that they will receive extensive financial assistance from the provincial disaster fund: "If the affected properties really are no longer buildable, we will not leave anyone in the lurch. We will not allow existential hardship due to a catastrophic event," explained Wallner on Sunday. Individual case reviews are currently underway in cooperation with the municipality and the authorities.

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In April 2023, a slope in the Hochreute parcel in the municipality of Hörbranz began to slide. As a result, several houses had to be evacuated and some even demolished. One year on, there is still no prospect of the houses being rebuilt on the same site or of the residents returning. The official investigations are still ongoing.

This means that a new hazard zone plan must first be drawn up in collaboration with the municipality. "We are in the process of working out long-term and individual solutions for the victims so that they have a safe home again," said Wallner.

Donations also possible
On Friday, an information event was held for those affected in the presence of representatives from the municipality of Hörbranz, the torrent and avalanche control authority and experts from the Vorarlberg provincial government. It was explained there what the financial aid could look like in concrete terms. On the basis of a case-by-case assessment, funds from the disaster fund, housing subsidies and support from other hardship funds are to be made available. The use of donations is also conceivable.