Roadblock in Tyrol

Mudslide: house evacuated, farms cut off

The mudslide in East Tyrol occurred on Tuesday evening.

(Bild: FF Nußdorf-Debant, Krone KREATIV)

A mudslide occurred early Tuesday evening in East Tyrol: in the municipality of Nußdorf-Debant, a road was completely blocked by mud and debris. One house had to be evacuated. Several farms were initially cut off from the outside world.

Directly behind a house in the Obernußdorf district, the mudflow started on Tuesday evening at around 6.30 pm. "The municipal road there was completely displaced and is not passable for the time being," reported the East Tyrolean police on Wednesday morning.

Four farm access roads and road closed
"The resident of the endangered house was evacuated. Other residents of the slightly higher farms are currently trapped. Around 15 people are affected," the executive continued.

We have closed the affected municipal road and four farm access roads for safety reasons.

Bürgermeister Andreas Pfurner

"The affected municipal road and four farm access roads were closed by us for safety reasons," Mayor Andreas Pfurner told the "Krone" early this morning. The fire department had observed the situation on site overnight. A regional geologist had announced that he would be visiting in the morning.

Clean-up work after assessing the situation
"We are not taking any risks," said Pfurner. Shortly before midday, the all-clear was finally given by the state geologist. "The evacuation has been lifted and the clean-up work has begun. It is unclear whether we will still be able to do it on Wednesday. Access to the farms will be possible again by Thursday at the latest," says the head of the municipality.

Now, together with the provincial geologist and the torrent and avalanche control authority, they are working out how to secure the slope. "This should, of course, be permanent," concludes Pfurner.

Fortunately, no one was injured. The local fire department was deployed with three vehicles and around 15 personnel.