Hail, flooding

Thunderstorm front caused numerous operations

The Salzburg emergency services were in constant use last night due to the storm.(Bild: Feuerwehr Bischofshofen)

The violent storm swept across large parts of Austria last night and caused numerous call-outs. In Salzburg, for example, firefighters had to be called out more than 240 times.

The storm was particularly severe in Tyrol. Two trains and ten cars were trapped by mudslides on Tuesday night. In some cases, passengers had to be evacuated with the help of the fire department. The B171 Tiroler Straße between Innsbruck and Zirl was also trapped by mudslides.

Two trains were stranded in Tyrol. One even had to be evacuated.(Bild: ÖBB/SAE West, Krone KREATIV)

90 operations in Lower Austria
Around 90 storm operations have also been recorded in Lower Austria so far. Flooded cellars were mainly pumped out and contaminated roads were closed. There were probably the most operations in Salzburg. Here, the fire department had to be called out more than 240 times, as the extremely slow-moving thunderstorms caused heavy rainfall, hail and flooding, especially in Pinzgau and Pongau.

The Salzburg emergency services were in constant action last night due to the storm.(Bild: Feuerwehr Bischofshofen)

(Bild: Freiwillige Feuerwehr Bischofshofen)

Several animals were injured in the farm fire in Upper Austria.(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at)

Lightning strikes a farm
A lightning strike in Upper Austria caused a major fire on a farm in Freistadt. Most of the 30 pigs and 60 cattle in the barn were saved, but several animals suffered burns.

Mudslide also in Vorarlberg
There was also a major operation in St. Gallenkirch (Montafon) in Vorarlberg due to a mudslide. The fire department was deployed with five vehicles and 24 people, according to the police. Fortunately, no one was injured. In the affected communities, it is still a case of clearing up. Numerous rain showers and lightning could also be seen in Vienna. In total, there were twelve deployments in the federal capital.

According to weather experts, there were more than 800 flashes of lightning in Vienna last night. By comparison, there were 11,000 flashes of lightning in Lower Austria.