Situation in Salzburg

Roads closed, but fire department takes a deep breath

The Wiestal Landesstraße is still closed due to this mudslide.

(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

The past few days have been more than just demanding: hundreds of operations, the fire department is stretched to the limit throughout the country. At the moment, the fire department in Salzburg can breathe a sigh of relief - before the next rain comes. In addition, many roads are still closed: The "Krone" provides an overview. And the risk of avalanches remains high. 

It's been a tough few days and hours for Salzburg's emergency services. While the mountain rescue team had to deal with one death from the masses of snow and several operations in the alpine regions, the fire department was virtually in constant use. 

A total of 398 deployments were recorded by the state fire brigade headquarters up to 5 a.m. on Monday. 76 departments deployed a total of 1,793 men to pump out cellars, clear streets, fill and distribute sandbags or set up local flood protection. 

The most important road closures at a glance
Flachgau and Tennengau were particularly affected by the rain, although the situation is far less tense than in eastern Austria. Snow was the main problem in the inner mountains. Mudslides or trees breaking under the weight of the snow led to road closures throughout the country. 

The "Krone" has summarized the most important closures (as of 8 a.m., according to the Salzburg Police Department) for you: 

• Tennengau: L107, Wiestal Landesstraße, area of the equalization basin -
  Total closure due to a mudslide 
• Pinzgau: B164, Hochkönigstraße, Filzensattel area - total closure due to a mudslide. 
  Total closure due to fallen trees
• Pongau: B164, Hochkönigstraße, Dientner Sattel area - total closure due to fallen trees 
  Total closure due to fallen trees
• Flachgau: L108, Gaisberg country road - total closure due to fallen trees 
  Total closure due to fallen trees

No end in sight
An end to the closures cannot currently be predicted. The weather forecast for Monday is even more relaxed in the morning. The water levels will remain constant and even fall in some areas. Rainfall is expected to increase again around midday. Complete relief is not expected until Wednesday, until then increased caution applies. 

Avalanche risk in the mountains
"We strongly advise against ski tours and hikes in the snowy high mountains", announced Balthasar Laireiter, head of the Salzburg Mountain Rescue Service, at the weekend. This situation has not changed since then.

The avalanche warning services recorded up to 150 centimetres of fresh snow at high altitudes. "In the coming days, too, you have to expect sliding snow slides or avalanches from steep embankments on forest and hiking trails at any time," warned Laireiter.