The "Krone" helps!

East Styrian woman after the storm: “It’s a pain in the ass”

The woman from Eastern Styria and her rescued animals are left with nothing and will probably lose the roof over their heads too

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Evelyn S. is a tough woman. Someone who usually lends a hand to others and helps wherever she can. Now tears are streaming down her cheeks, she urgently needs help herself! After the storms, she says: "I'm literally left with nothing."

Where the cellar is not under water, it is covered in a thick, viscous layer of mud; where it has already dried, it is as hard as concrete. "I don't even know how I can get rid of it," says the East Styrian.

You can see the strain on her face. With a pit light on her forehead, covered in dirt everywhere, she has been standing in the wet cellar for hours, toiling, wiping, cleaning, running outside with the full bucket. All sorts of things that were once useful are still floating around her, but are no longer. The washing machine is broken, the freezer, the entire wood-burning stove.

A sad picture of destruction

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

The whole cellar is a disaster, the driveway too, the garden flooded. Huge tree trunks that had been lying at the back were swept forward to the road, the force was so enormous. The lovingly planted plants pecked away in the bushes.

"Everyone needs help"
Normally, it is the woman who only has a minimum income but a big heart who helps others - "and here in my street, everyone is affected, everyone needs help!" She is particularly affected by the fact that she cannot support others in the face of the disaster in her own home. 

Evelyn S. needs support

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

In her own home - who knows how long that will last. The older house is only rented and was already dilapidated. "It can probably only be pushed away," fear her neighbors. Then the Styrian woman, who has already lost so much to the flood, is also homeless.

And not just her. She has also lost her dog "Bella", who she rescued from a killing station. And Chihuahua "Snowy", who was tied to a chain by the previous owner so that it grew into his neck. And the two cats, also from animal welfare, of course.

Her best efforts were to calm them down and bring them to safety during the storm, when the masses of water came from all sides, almost turning the alleyway into a river and taking away her hopes. And probably also the roof over the woman's head. "It's just a shame," she says, who is otherwise so tough and has overcome many difficulties in her life. But this is the straw that broke the camel's back.

If you would like to support: "Die Krone hilft - Steiermark", account: AT152081500044569523, KW Unwetter2024/Evelyn