Chaos storm

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In Graz-Andritz, the Schöcklbach burst its banks.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT PULLER)

Severe storms hit Austria again on Sunday night, causing considerable damage in some places. In Styria, a mudslide displaced the Pyhrnautobahn (A9) near Übelbach. According to Asfinag, this is closed at least until next weekend. Several EU polling stations were also destroyed. Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) requested the assistance of the Austrian army for Burgenland, where the district of Oberwart in particular was affected.

Several people had to be flown out near Übelbach, reported Ö3 on the short news service X. Harald Eitner from the provincial warning center described that the houses of those affected were cut off from the environment due to damage.

In Deutschfeistritz, Eggersdorf and in Nord-Andritz in Graz, a civil defense alarm was triggered in the meantime, which was lifted again in the morning. The districts of Graz-Umgebung, Hartberg-Fürstenfeld and parts of south-eastern Styria were affected. A civil defense alert was also issued in Oberwart in Burgenland. A disaster alert was issued for the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district from Sunday.

In Styria, several polling stations for the EU elections were also inaccessible or destroyed by the severe storms. Polling stations in Deutschfeistritz north of Graz and several in the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district were mentioned. However, the responsible mayors "reacted very quickly" and relocated the polling stations.

The people in the affected areas can rest assured that our soldiers, together with the civilian emergency services, will do everything possible to help them as quickly as possible.

Ministerin Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP)

Thepopulation must exercise extreme caution
The Styrian State Warning Center advised the population to exercise extreme caution on Sunday night, according to Styrian Communications. The banks of bodies of water should be avoided in areas affected by large amounts of rain, as should the cellars of houses.

According to the province of Styria, hundreds of cellars and streets were flooded in the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district, and a dam broke in Lafnitz. Two bridges in Kleinlungitz and Schäffern and several others in Vorau were washed away, and a bridge in Unterlungitz still needs to be checked. Some houses are inaccessible as a result.

Land under water in Styria

(Bild: BFVHB/Matthias Novacek)

Five mudslides occurred on the highway
According to Asfinag, the mudslides on the A9 Pyhrnautobahn caused much greater damage than feared. A total of five mudslides hit the freeway near Übelbach, some of which were up to two meters high. Employees of Asfinag, the fire departments and hauliers were deployed with 20 trucks and seven excavators to remove the masses of earth. Also affected was a bridge north of the Übelbach junction, whose pillars were washed free by the water. For safety reasons, the A9 must remain closed in both directions until the end of next week.

Civil protection warning in Burgenland
In Burgenland, the district of Oberwart was the most severely affected, a disaster situation was declared for the entire district and a civil protection warning was issued for the town itself, but was lifted in the late morning. Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) therefore requested assistance from the Austrian Armed Forces. The employees of the state's road construction authorities were also called in to support the emergency services with the clean-up work. Doskozil also promised rapid assistance from the state's disaster fund if damage is not covered by insurance.

Wiesfleck-Schreibersdorf after the heavy rainfall.

(Bild: Christoph Krutzler)

According to the Ministry of Defense, the Austrian Armed Forces are deployed in Styria and Burgenland to help with the clean-up and reconstruction work. In Styria, the army is providing support with a disaster relief platoon and the construction of a bridge in Feldbach. Reconnaissance is also taking place in the Hartberg-Füstenfeld area. In Burgenland, the operation was scouted in the late morning due to flooded polling stations. "The people in the affected areas can rest assured that our soldiers, together with the civilian emergency services, will do everything possible to help them as quickly as possible," explained Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP). The army is prepared to remain deployed for as long as necessary to deal with the consequences of the storm disaster.

Emergency services in Tyrol alsokept on their toes
Storms with heavy rain and hail also kept emergency services in Tyrol, specifically in the lowlands, on their toes on Saturday evening and resulted in several local mudslides. In Reith im Alpbachtal (Kufstein district), for example, a car with four occupants was caught in a mudslide and slightly damaged. The people were uninjured. Roads were also partially displaced in Mariastein and Auffach in the Wildschönau (also in the district of Kufstein). Kitzbühel was also affected by the storm in isolated cases. In the area of the old hospital, a stream became blocked, leading to flooding, according to the local fire department. Water entered some houses. However, there was no widespread flooding or serious damage in the province.

The hailstorm in Tyrol was so dramatic that car windows were broken.

(Bild: ZOOM Tirol)

The fire departments in Lower Austria also had to respond, mainly in the south. There were more than 40 call-outs in total, mainly for pumping out water. Meanwhile, the disaster relief service (KHD) was called out to neighboring Styria. A KHD platoon from the district of Neunkirchen was mainly deployed in the municipality of Schäffern (Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district).

Fire departments in Lower Austria can't rest
The fire departments in Lower Austria did not come to rest on Sunday evening either. According to Klaus Stebal from the provincial command, around 70 storm operations were recorded. They were also called out to Casino Baden, where the entrance area was flooded. The water was quickly pumped out by the helpers.

In Upper Austria, a total of 1700 helpers were deployed, with the first alerts coming in from 7.00 pm. A total of 115 fire departments were deployed in 91 operations. Most affected were the districts of Braunau am Inn, Vöcklabruck, Gmunden, Wels-Land and Linz-Land. According to current knowledge, no persons were injured. Compared to other storms, the provincial fire department command assessed the events on Sunday night as "less serious", as stated in a press release.