Mudslide on highway

Storms in Styria: Disaster alert!

Scenes of chaos due to the large amounts of rain in Deutschfeistritz

(Bild: Landeswarnzentrale)

Severe storms are currently hitting Styria again. Deutschfeistritz has been hit particularly hard, and a civil protection alert has been issued here as well as in the municipalities of Eggersdorf, Weinitzen and parts of Graz. The Pyhrn highway near Übelbach is also closed - a mudslide has started!

Over Deutschfeistritz, a municipality north of Graz, a violent thunderstorm cell with heavy rainfall erupted on Saturday evening, causing severe flooding and landslides. The Übelbach became a raging river and cars were swept through the streets like matchsticks. "This is a picture of destruction," said a shocked reader on the editorial phone. People were trapped in their cars - fortunately, no victims have been reported so far.

The emergency services fought their way through the flash floods. The town center is completely under water and in some places can only be reached by boat. The railroad line is also flooded. There are also numerous power cuts. The Red Cross has set up an emergency contact point for local residents in the school center.

Scenes of chaos due to the large amounts of rain in Deutschfeistritz

(Bild: Landeswarnzentrale)

Absolute danger to life
"At the mayor's request, we issued a civil protection alert," the head of the provincial warning center, Harald Eitner, told the "Krone" newspaper. Residents should not go into the cellars and follow the instructions of the emergency services - there was an absolute danger to life! Further heavy rainfall is forecast for the night.

A short time later, a civil defense alert was also issued for the municipality of Eggersdorf east of Graz: According to the fire department, there is a threat of massive flooding from the Rabnitz.

A mudslide on the Pyhrn highway near Übelbach

(Bild: Asfinag)

The clean-up work will probably take longer.

(Bild: Asfinag)

Pyhrn highway closed
The Pyhrnautobahn A9 north of Graz is closed until at least Sunday morning: According to Asfinag, shortly after the Übelbach junction, near the Gleinalm tunnel, an avalanche of mud and debris up to 1.5 meters high went down and completely displaced the southbound carriageway. It was immediately closed, including the northbound lane for safety reasons and due to the persistent rainfall.

Traffic has been diverted in both directions from St. Michael and Deutschfeistritz via the S6 (Semmering Expressway) and the S35 (Brucker Expressway) since 7 pm. Asfinag is working with two excavators and the closure will last at least until Sunday morning. It is still unclear whether there was any road damage.

"Everything destroyed within minutes"
A huge thunderstorm also hit Graz in the evening. There was heavy hail in places and trees were blown down. The fire department sirens could be heard throughout the city all evening. Wild scenes were also reported from the Laßnitzhöhe and Vasoldsberg areas. A reader reporter sent us this video: "Within minutes, all the plants were destroyed."

The storm cell then moved on towards the east. "The situation is precarious. New flood reports are coming in all the time," according to the regional warning center. And there is no all-clear in sight: the next severe weather threatens Styria on Sunday, and even on Monday the danger is high according to meteorologists!

Civil defense alert in other areas
The province of Styria and the city of Graz are calling for the utmost caution - especially in Graz, Graz-Umgebung and Hartberg-Fürstenfeld. The district authorities are currently examining whether to declare a disaster for parts of the Graz-Umgebung and Hartberg-Fürstenfeld districts.

Harald Eitner and Christopher Drexler Saturday evening at the regional warning center

(Bild: Land Steiermark)

And a civil defense alarm was sounded in other areas, now also in Weinitzen, Nord-Andritz, Graz-Mariatrost and in the Hilmteich area. It is expected that the water levels will continue to rise. Governor Christopher Drexler and Deputy Governor Anton Lang appeal: "We continue to call on the population in the affected areas - especially in the Graz-Umgebung and Hartberg-Fürstenfeld districts - to exercise extreme caution!"