Eyewitnesses in the video

Hailstones hit like grenades

210 roofs were literally shot through in Lower Austria.

(Bild: Molnar Attila)

After the terrible storm on Sunday with hail the size of tennis balls that cut through roof tiles like a knife through butter, four small towns in the Waldviertel were declared disaster areas. 210 roofs - mainly of residential buildings - were literally shot through. One person is also said to have been injured. 

Shocked, but also immediately composed again - this is how Waldkirchen's mayor Reinhard Ringl describes the strong attitude of the citizens after the storm disaster on Sunday afternoon.

Seven-centimeter hailstones hit the area "like small grenades" and shot holes in 80 percent of all roofs in the Waldviertel villages of Rappolz, Waldkirchen, Gilgenberg and Lexnitz. In Rappolz, not a single roof is said to have remained intact.

250 Florianis rushed to help on Sunday afternoon
The sad result, which immediately called the fire departments of the Waidhofen an der Thaya district to the scene in a show of strength: 210 roofs were perforated, 150 of which were residential buildings. Furthermore, vehicles, facades, farm and outbuildings as well as fields were also hit - the hail insurance company estimates the damage to the area at 1.6 million euros.

250 members of the fire department, company employees and private individuals patched up the roofs just a few hours after Sunday's hail, which "went through the tiles like butter". District fire brigade chief Manfred Damberger emphasized the importance of quick action, as heavy rain set in again a little later, hitting the unprotected buildings on a massive scale.

Person hit by large "ice projectile"
65,000 m² of tarpaulins are available from the district's disaster warehouse and the fire station in Tulln. Stephan Pernkopf, Vice-President of the Province of Tulln, expressed his gratitude to the emergency services: "The Province is ready with resources from the disaster fund", announced Pernkopf.

Special equipment, vehicles and material from other parts of the country also came to the rescue, according to State Fire Brigade Chief Dietmar Fahrafellner. On Monday, 165 firefighters were once again deployed and more than 125 objects were secured.

By the way: "Krone" research on site revealed that one person was also injured. She was hit by a hailstone as she was trying to push a gate shut. After the wound was treated, however, the person should be feeling better again.