On the Fischach

Floods: “Residents behaved in an exemplary manner”

In the night to Tuesday, there were still individual operations in the province of Salzburg. The Fischach in Seekirchen (picture) was a particular cause for concern.

(Bild: FF Seekirchen)

There was no major flooding in the province on Tuesday night. At Lake Wallersee, a walker was rescued by the water rescue service due to the rising water level. The Seekirchen fire department praises the precautions taken by residents along the Fischach.

The flood situation in Salzburg has been easing since Tuesday morning. In the evening, the municipality of Seekrichen and the local fire department had warned the population about the risk of flooding on the Fischach. On Tuesday morning, local fire brigade commander Herbert Költringer was able to give the all-clear. "The water levels have remained the same since one o'clock in the morning. It will take a few more hours before they drop significantly," says Költringer.

His team has had around 25 call-outs since Monday afternoon. What pleased the firefighters were the precautions that Seekirchen residents had taken. "The residents behaved in an exemplary manner. They were very well prepared for the flood with structural measures and sandbags," explains the fire department commander. One reason for this is the experience with the floods in 2013.

In Salzburg, the continuous rain on Monday and during the night into Tuesday still resulted in individual fire department operations. According to the provincial fire brigade command, a total of around 100 men and women were called out, mainly due to flooded sewers and soakaways. The northern districts of the province were affected. At Lake Wallersee, the water level rose so high that the water rescue team had to use a special boat to bring a person to safety from a footpath on Monday.

According to the water rescue service, two paths and the access road to the bathing area could only be reached by boat. The water rescue service's flood boats are made of aluminum, are extremely light and maneuverable and have hardly any draft. They also have numerous carrying handles and wheels in the hull so that they are easy to maneuver even in shallow areas.

In general, the weather has calmed down in the second half of the night - and the signs are pointing to further easing. Precipitation is only forecast in places on Tuesday and it should remain largely dry in the state. As temperatures rise, the snow that has fallen over the past few days will melt again in the coming days, but no major problems are currently expected as a result. Overall, there was no major flooding in Salzburg - but there was still plenty of work for the emergency services due to the snowfall in the mountains, individual mudslides and small-scale flooding.