Weather chaos in the country

Heavy rain: Where thunderstorms are expected again

In Linz, the Danube has already burst its banks. The water is expected to rise further during the course of the day.

(Bild: Dostal Harald)

After the heavy storms in large parts of Austria on Monday, the heavy rain entered its second round on Tuesday morning: Lower Austria was still at red warning level in the morning. In Linz, the Danube had already burst its banks in the morning. Hundreds of fire departments are in action. The water has risen to almost 7 meters. Roads also had to be closed. Further rain showers and thunderstorms are possible in the second half of the day. 

In the Upper Austrian capital of Linz, the Danube burst its banks in the Urfahn market area early on Tuesday morning. A water level of 6.86 meters was measured. Experts expect the water to continue to rise over the next few hours. Peak levels are expected around midday. Alert level two did not seem realistic. It was purely a transit flood in Upper Austria, as the Upper Austrian tributaries such as the Enns and Traun do not cause massive floods, said Christian Wakolbinger from the Upper Austrian Hydrographic Service.

The Danube has already burst its banks in Linz. The water is expected to rise further during the course of the day.

(Bild: Dostal Harald)

(Bild: Dostal Harald)

Since Monday afternoon, there have been around 100 call-outs around Linz. Roads had to be closed and traffic jams formed. In Schärding, the Inn promenade and the boat landing stage parking lot were closed on Monday evening and further elements of the mobile flood protection system were installed during the night. The Inn was expected to rise to 6.50 meters in Schärding.

Red warning level in Lower Austria
According to experts from Geosphere Austria, the impact of the disruption should ease over the course of Tuesday. Nevertheless, caution is advised in many regions: The Austrian Severe Weather Center (UWZ) reported a red warning level in Lower Austria this morning. Lilienfeld, St. Pölten and the area around St. Pölten were affected. More than 410 call-outs have been recorded since Monday at 4 pm. Around 500 fire departments were called out to pump out water or clean up contaminated roads. 

Several hundred hectares flooded
The districts of Tulln, St. Pölten, Melk and Krems were the worst affected. For example, cellars and towpaths were flooded. In the district of Korneuburg, the B6 in the Ernstbrunn area was partially closed due to flooding. In Ardagger (Amstetten district), the Danube overflowed its banks on Tuesday night, flooding several hundred hectares of land in Machland Süd, reported Mayor and President of the Association of Municipalities Johannes Pressl (ÖVP). As water levels were expected to continue to rise, it was assumed that the Danube would overflow up to one meter high over the Treppelweg near Schatzkastl.

The heavy rainfall also caused a lot of work for the emergency services in Salzburg on Monday. Numerous cellars were flooded in Bürmoos on the border with Germany. There were almost 100 alarms in the municipality alone.

The Danube also continued to swell significantly near Vienna on Monday.

(Bild: Leserreporter)

(Bild: Leserreporter T.)

Rockfall in the Wachau
There was also a mudslide in the Wachau in Lower Austria. A cyclist was injured and the road was closed. There was also localized flooding in Burgenland.

The Aggsteiner Straße (B33) was closed in the Aggsbach-Dorf area in the district of Melk (Lower Austria) after a mudslide.

(Bild: DOKU-NÖ)

Large amounts of rain are also expected in Upper Austria and Styria. In Tyrol, Salzburg, Burgenland and Carinthia, there is a threat of thunderstorms and hail in addition to the showers. The westernmost part of Austria and Vienna will probably be spared on Tuesday. 

Thunderstorms also in the second half of the day
According to Geosphere meteorologists, sunshine is expected again, at least in the afternoon, with only a slight chance of showers. In the alpine mountains and in the south, the clouds will soon clear, but there will be an increase in cumulus clouds under intermittent sunshine, so that a few more, albeit rather small-scale, shower and thunderstorm cells are to be expected, especially in the second half of the day.

Emergency declared in Bavaria
A glance at Germany makes many in our country shudder: Just a few kilometers from the border, torrential rain has been falling for days. The flood situation there remains critical. A state of emergency has been declared in the Bavarian district of Rosenheim and evacuations have already taken place in some places.