"We are at the limit"

Deutschfeistritz: 50 people were rescued!

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09.06.2024 08:16

Large parts of Styria are currently in a state of emergency! The fire department had to rescue 50 people from life-threatening situations, the town center of Deutschfeistritz was completely flooded on Saturday evening. In the north of Graz, huge rivers formed on the roads, and a nursing home was evacuated in Neudau in eastern Styria. And there is a threat of storms again today.

The pictures and videos from Deutschfeistritz spread within minutes on Saturday evening: The Übelbach burst its banks and became a raging river, the town center was under water, cars were pushed against house walls. Some people were trapped in their vehicles and rescued by courageous residents.

On Sunday in the early hours of the morning, the volunteer fire department posted a summary: 300 people from 25 fire departments were deployed, 50 people had to be rescued from life-threatening situations. "We have reached the limit!" Head of operations Andreas Reiter from the Deutschfeistritz volunteer fire department reports: "The scale of what happened here yesterday - I've never seen anything like it."

The good news in the disaster: As things stand, there are only a few minor injuries, according to Harald Eitner, head of Styrian disaster control. However, the damage to property will be enormous and its extent will probably only be known later today.

Head of disaster control Harald Eitner rushed to Deutschfeistritz on Sunday (Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowtz)
Head of disaster control Harald Eitner rushed to Deutschfeistritz on Sunday

Overall, the water levels are receding throughout Styria. But the anxious look at the sky remains: it could thunderstorm again from Sunday afternoon. "There is a lot of flooding. If these are not cleared by the afternoon hours, it could become critical," Eitner told "Krone".

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So far, there have been no serious injuries and we have not had to report any fatalities.

Harald Eitner, Leiter des Katastrophenschutzes

Civil defense alert lifted
But it wasn't just in Deutschfeistritz that the fire departments were extremely busy. A civil defense alert was issued in Eggersdorf, Weinitzen and parts of Graz - this has since been lifted. Nevertheless, the city of Graz has issued an urgent warning: "Please avoid open water, cellars, underground car parks and underpasses at all costs!"

The Schöcklbach is still dangerously swollen. (Bild: Marcus Stoimaier)
The Schöcklbach is still dangerously swollen.
The Graz fire departments are still in continuous operation on Sunday, here is a picture from Radegunder Straße in Andritz. (Bild: Marcus Stoimaier)
The Graz fire departments are still in continuous operation on Sunday, here is a picture from Radegunder Straße in Andritz.
Pictures of the devastation in Graz-Andritz. (Bild: Marcus Stoimaier)
Pictures of the devastation in Graz-Andritz.
Pictures of the devastation in Graz-Andritz. (Bild: Marcus Stoimaier)
Pictures of the devastation in Graz-Andritz.

Radegunderstraße in the north of Graz is closed after a landslide. A huge river had formed at the Pfanghofweg junction on Sunday night. In Andritz, the emergency services were busy clearing up on Sunday morning: Cellars had to be pumped out and mud had to be shoveled from the streets.

The residents of this house and their neighbors were spared by the mudslide by the skin of their teeth. (Bild: zVg)
The residents of this house and their neighbors were spared by the mudslide by the skin of their teeth.

Residents on a mountain in Übelbach, the neighboring village of Deutschfeistritz, were extremely lucky. A landslide thundered just centimeters past houses. Where the road used to be, there is now a huge crater.

Nursing home evacuated
The Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district, and in particular the Lafnitz catchment area, is emerging as the second hotspot alongside the region north of Graz, according to Eitner. In Neudau, a nursing home with 40 residents had to be evacuated. Organic farmer Jakob Hackl from Burgau also had to save some of his sun pigs from the masses of water. In Deutschfeistritz, too, 18 people are still unable to return to their homes.

Jakob Hackl on his way home after evacuating his sun pigs. (Bild: zVg)
Jakob Hackl on his way home after evacuating his sun pigs.
The road between Burgau and Neudau is impassable. (Bild: zVg)
The road between Burgau and Neudau is impassable.
Severe flooding in Burgau. (Bild: zVg)
Severe flooding in Burgau.

The municipality of Burgau is currently even completely enclosed due to flooding - no access roads are passable. The Hartberg district authority met on Sunday morning for a major briefing.

According to the provincial fire brigade association, there were 358 storm operations within 24 hours and 27 human rescues were counted! In addition to Graz-Umgebung and the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld districts, Weiz and the Feldbach area were also severely affected. The districts of Murtal and Leibnitz were not spared either. 

Highway to Mure closed
The Pyhrnautobahn A9 near Übelbach is still closed in both directions. A 1.5 meter high mud and debris avalanche fell here, and a mudslide also hit the freeway in four other places, according to Asfinag.

Mudslide on the Phyrnautobahn. (Bild: Asfinag)
Mudslide on the Phyrnautobahn.

During the night, employees worked with excavators to remove the debris. However, the danger for motorists remains high, which is why the A9 will be closed at least until Monday morning. A detour has been set up via the S35 and S6.

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.

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