New thunderstorms threaten
Civil defense alert in Traboch, Mautern and Thörl!
Huge amounts of rain fell again on Wednesday night. In Upper Styria in particular, there was flooding, mudslides and even evacuations. A disaster alert has now been declared in six municipalities. More thunderstorms are forecast for Wednesday afternoon.
Once again, several Styrian municipalities were declared "land under water" on Wednesday night. The ground was saturated from the rainfall of the past days and weeks - people were worried about their belongings. From 11 p.m. onwards, several successive thunderstorms rained down and all the fire departments in the districts of Leoben and Bruck-Mürzzuschlag were called upon.
"In the Leoben area, it started in Mautern", reports Stefan Riemelmoser, spokesman for the Leoben fire brigade. Heavy rain fell, causing mudslides, landslides, blockages and flooded cellars. The municipalities of Mautern, Traboch and Thörl were particularly affected - civil defense alerts were issued during the night. Residents were asked to avoid basements and seek out high rooms.
In the morning hours, the B20 from Kapfenberg to Thörl was also completely closed - a diversion was made via the L123, the Pogusch. The ÖBB southern line between Mürzzuschlag and Krieglach is also currently blocked. A rail replacement service has been set up and the closure should be lifted by 2 pm.
At midday on Wednesday, six Styrian municipalities were declared disaster areas: Mautern, Kammern im Liesingtal, Wald am Schoberpaß and Kalwang in the district of Leoben, Thörl and Aflenz in the district of Bruck-Mürzzuschlag. A trout farm in Kalwang was hit particularly hard: Around 250 tons of fish were washed out of the pools. Around 100 volunteers are helping to collect them and thus prevent hygiene problems.
40 people evacuated in Traboch
In Traboch, 40 people from two districts had to be evacuated during the night. "The dam of Lake Traboch was in danger of bursting," explains Riemelmoser. The residents were housed overnight in an elementary school and were able to return to their homes in the morning. The civil defense alert was then lifted.
A total of 400 firefighters were deployed in the Leoben area alone. Thomas Meier, state fire service spokesman, summarized 180 operations by around 100 fire departments across the state. "We can only thank all our comrades who have been on duty since the night hours," said Governor Christopher Drexler (ÖVP) and his deputy Anton Lang (SPÖ).
Three farms cut off from the outside world
In Wald am Schoberpaß, the storm left particularly severe traces of devastation: "The stream washed away the road to three farmsteads in Liesinggraben. They are currently cut off from the outside world," reports Christopher Rainer from the Wald am Schoberpaß fire department. A mudslide had also occurred - this could be removed. It is still unclear when access to the farms can be restored.
The Bruck volunteer fire department also reported on Facebook: "Short successive thunderstorm fronts with sometimes large hail led to several mudslides and flooding." A video from the village of Jauring in the municipality of Aflenz shows a road that resembles a river. From the Mürzzuschlag area it says: "Numerous floods on traffic routes, underpasses, pumping out of cellars and smaller mudslides had to be dealt with by the fire departments."
They are currently working together with pumping and clearing work. This will continue throughout the day. Ubimet meteorologist Martin Templin also reports "enormous amounts of rain". "The frontrunner was Aflenz with around 100 liters per square meter in just a few hours," he says.
Meanwhile, there are growing concerns about further thunderstorms in the afternoon on Wednesday: "It's not looking good", says Meier. "There are currently high-energy air masses over the south-east of Austria again," confirms Templin, "30 liters or more can be expected again in Upper Styria in the afternoon."
He warns: "If the same regions are hit again now, the oversaturated soils will certainly be a major issue." The past few months have already brought above-average rainfall in Styria compared to the rest of Austria. Over the next few days, thunderstorms are now expected every day in different regions of the country - even with hail towards the weekend, says Templin.
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