Situation remains tense

Storms in Lower Austria: “It’s far from over!”

The situation is still tense, especially in the districts of Tulln, St. Pölten and Melk.

(Bild: BMLV/Daniel TRIPPOLT)

The devastating storm had Lower Austria in its grip for four days - but it won't let us go for a long time yet. Because even though the water levels are dropping in many places, the danger of landslides and mudslides is high. On Tuesday, 33,000 firefighters, rescue workers, police and army personnel are still in action.

"Thank God the rain is letting up," says a visibly relieved Johanna Mikl-Leitner on Tuesday morning after the crisis team meeting at the Tulln Safety Center. However: "The danger has not yet been averted", said the governor. The situation is still tense, especially in the districts of Tulln, St. Pölten and Melk. During the night, hundreds of people had to be evacuated from a total of seven villages in the Tullnerfeld.

The head of the province focused in particular on the human suffering: "Many Lower Austrians are now facing the ruins of their existence." She promised them help from the disaster fund as quickly as possible to at least relieve the financial pressure. A decision to this effect is to be taken by the state government in St. Pölten today. The damage assessment teams are also already being formed and will be deployed as soon as the current danger situation allows.

Enormous damage, roads closed
The extent of the damage is not yet foreseeable. For Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf, the priority is to eliminate two major problems: Firstly, the road closures, which currently affect 271 links. The western line of the Federal Railways is also still impassable. Secondly, the damage to the flood protection and the partly leaking, partly broken dams must be repaired as quickly as possible. "When the next rainfall comes in a few days or weeks, the water must be able to drain away again," warns Pernkopf, warning that even small amounts of rain could lead to flooding.

Mikl-Leitner, Pernkopf and Fahrafellner with representatives of the emergency services in Tulln on Tuesday.

(Bild: NLK Burchhart)

Figures that are worrying
Nationwide, eleven dams broke on Monday alone, bringing the total number here to 21. 26 communities were cut off from the outside world early on Tuesday morning, 22 towns were without water, 14 without sewers. And 2400 households are currently without electricity. 2240 people had to be evacuated from 1120 households, 49 of those affected even had to be evacuated by helicopter.

765 people were temporarily taken to emergency shelters or other alternative accommodation. Another figure is impressive: 626,000 calls were made on the authorities' radio in a single day to coordinate the rescue measures. No wonder this system also failed - at least for a short time.

Help from Vienna to Vorarlberg
The wave of willingness to help and solidarity is huge, as Provincial Fire Service Commander Dietmar Fahrafellner emphasized: relief workers from other provinces are now being deployed, and on Tuesday 15 platoons with a total of 1,300 firefighters were sent to relieve the Lower Austrian comrades. "Everything is involved: we have pumps from the Vienna professional fire department as well as equipment from Vorarlberg," thanks Fahrafellner.

Soldiers from the Austrian Armed Forces are assisting in securing the dams.

(Bild: BMLV)

With the help of Blackhawk helicopters, the number of sandbags was increased by 640,000.

(Bild: BMLV/Daniel TRIPPOLT)

Armed forces soldiers with Blackhawk helicopters and all-terrain armored vehicles are also deployed to assist in securing the breached dams along the Perschling near Rust in the Tullnerfeld. The military is on site in 13 districts for 39 specific operations. The number of sandbags has been increased by 640,000, 50,000 of which were filled overnight alone, according to reports.