200 residents affected

Debris flows, overflowing stream: numerous operations

Fügenberg in the Zillertal was cut off from the outside world on Saturday.

(Bild: ZOOM Tirol)

Storms, some of them severe, swept across Tyrol on Friday evening and left their mark. Several fire department operations were the result. For example in Zillertal, where mudslides and flooding occurred. Around 200 people were trapped in Fügenberg and Hochfügen, where an emergency route has since provided relief.

"Nothing serious has happened", reassured the police after the storm on Friday evening in Tyrol. In other words, there have been no reports of injuries so far. Nevertheless, the emergency services were called out on numerous occasions.

For example, a stream overflowed in the center of Gerlos in Zillertal. The emergency services defused the situation with sandbags and the use of excavators. There was a landslide on the Gerlos road, which had to be closed for a short time.

Pictures of the storm operation in Gerlos:

Town cut off: 200 people trapped
Several mudslides on the Hochfügenerstraße also caused a road closure in the municipality of Fügenberg. From the "Knollwies-Anger" area onwards, the road was flooded with mud and debris. "The damage is extensive, but cannot yet be quantified. The streams have closed and now the water is running over the road instead of under it," explains Mayor Josef Unterweger.

We are working hard and are on site with full machinery. We already started during the night.

BM Josef Unterweger

Bild: ZOOM Tirol

Hochfügen had been cut off from the outside world since Friday evening. However, emergency supplies were available. An emergency route was opened early on Saturday morning and Hochfügen is accessible again to a limited extent.

Storms/mudslides on the Fügenberg:

Sellraintal only accessible at night via Ötztal
There were also several landslides and mudslides in Sellraintal, so that the valley was only accessible via the Ötztal road during the night. The L13 (Sellraintalstraße) was still closed between Kematen and Sellrain on Saturday morning, but could be reopened around noon.

The municipal road in the district of Neder in the municipality of Grinzens, which had been closed after a mudslide, was reopened to traffic on Saturday morning. The closed L233 (Oberperfer Landesstraße) in the district of Gasse in the municipality of Sellrain has since been reopened.

There were two mudslides in the Axamer Lizum: One mudslide fell on the parking lot of the Axamer Lizum, another behind a hotel.

Road closure also on the Wattenberg
There were also natural disasters on the Wattenberg and Großvolderberg as a result of storms with heavy rain. According to the police, at least 300 meters of the Wattental road was blocked by debris, mud and trees. The road remains closed for the time being.

Storm images from the Wattenberg:

Fish farm basin contaminated
At around 7 p.m., there was another mudslide on the Großvolderberg. Part of the "Möser" forest road had been displaced by rocks and mud due to a blockage in the Klausbach stream. "The mudslide contaminated several water basins of a fish farm with mud. It is not yet known whether the fish were able to withstand the natural event," reported the police.

Rockfall on federal road
Meanwhile, a boulder fell onto the B188 road in See, Gföll. This resulted in a total closure of the Paznauntal road. The road was reopened after the clearing work.