Two Styrian heroes

“This is how we rescued motorists from the flash floods”

Manuel Reinisch (left) and Marton Gazdag at the site of the disaster in Deutsch- feistritz(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

The day after in Deutschfeistritz, Styria: on Saturday evening, the entire town was under water, people were trapped in cars and there was mortal danger. Manuel Reinisch and Marton Gazdag became lifesavers - thanks to a ladder.

Until 4 a.m., the Deutschfeistritz firefighters, supported by other fire departments, rescued people trapped in their cars and evacuated others from flooded houses, squares and streets, often at the very last second.

In total, 50 people found themselves in life-threatening situations. "In the course of a firefighter's life, you've seen everything, experienced thousands of operations, but this scale was unimaginable," said fire department commander Andreas Reiter on Sunday morning, still stunned.

The Übelbach burst its banks on Saturday evening, swelling into a raging river and flooding the town center. Even though most of the firefighters had not slept a wink, they immediately started clearing up after the dramatic emergency operations. Tired, but with the feeling that they had done the best they could: "It's really nice to see the gratitude of the people who were brought to safety," says Markus Untersteiner from the Deutschfeistritz fire department.

Dozens of courageous helpers took part in the clean-up work in the center of Deutschfeistritz.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Cars wedged in a narrow alley
Like dozens of affected people and volunteers, Manuel Reinisch and Marton Gazdag also lend a hand, shoveling rubble from the street and carrying equipment out of muddy cellars and living spaces. When the flood swept everything away, they became lifesavers.