Flood operations

Leitha: An anxious look at the water level continues

The water level of the Leitha is still alarmingly high.

(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

Since Thursday, municipalities and emergency services around the Leitha have not been able to catch their breath. The all-clear has not yet been given, as the peak has not yet been reached. Meanwhile, more than 400 firefighters from Burgenland are helping to fight the floods in Lower Austria

During the night from Monday to Tuesday, the firefighters from the Bruckneudorf fire department built a 200-metre-long dam out of sandbags in case the water really does rise as high as forecast.

"At the moment, everything is holding up and it looks like we're getting off lightly. But it's still not safe," says Mayor Gerhard Dreiszker. Because the predicted peak of the water masses had not yet been reached on Tuesday afternoon. The water was still rising. The picture is similar in the other Leitha communities in the district of Neusiedl am See.

(Bild: Gemeinde Bruckneudorf)

Potzneusiedl is also waiting. For the peak of the flood. At first this was expected at 2 pm on Tuesday. Then it was postponed to 8 pm. As a precaution, the bridge from Potzneusiedl to Deutsch Haslau was closed at 4.90 meters. Because the bridge is 5.03 meters high. The water has already made its way around it. A garden is flooded, as is a meadow. None of the houses are likely to be affected, apart from two where the cellars could flood.

Cross-border cooperation
The Lower Austrian and Burgenland emergency services meet on the bridge. They discuss the situation together. District Governor Ulrike Zschech is also there again, as is Claus Paar, Chief Officer for Civil Protection and Crisis Management. And there is still only one thing to do: wait. Because the emergency services have done what they could. They have filled sandbags, built dams and opened floodgates. Now we have to wait and see when the peak has really been reached.

(Bild: FF Bruckneudorf)

Hoping that all the dams will hold
"What's a little worrying is that the peak level is expected to last at least 24 hours before the water level recedes again," explains Potzneusiedl Mayor Franz Werdenich. So the message remains: please wait. And hope that all the dams hold. 

(Bild: BFKD Güssing/Jörg Stipsits)

Burgenland expertise in flood areas in demand
Only a few weeks ago, the Burgenland fire departments were themselves involved in flood operations and were grateful for any support. These days, their neighborly help is in demand in Lower Austria, where intense continuous rain has left a trail of devastation.

(Bild: Bezirksfeuerwehrkommando Oberwart)

More than 400 emergency services from Burgenland in action
A total of four disaster relief teams from the districts of Oberwart, Güssing, Oberpullendorf and Jennersdorf were deployed on Monday and Tuesday with almost 300 people and 54 vehicles in the greater Baden area, Alland and the Tulln region. There was a great willingness to lend a hand and help. Many firefighters even took time off to pump out cellars or clear storm damage, says fire department spokesman Günter Prünner.

(Bild: Bezirksfeuerwehrkommando Oberwart)

Pollutant specialists from Pinkafeld prevented environmental hazards
And the expertise of the Burgenland team is in great demand. Among other things, the hazardous materials specialists from the Pinkafeld municipal fire department struggled to prevent an environmental hazard. Heating oil had to be bound in a 400 m² cellar.

(Bild: BFKD Güssing/Jörg Stipsits)

Burgenland fire brigades in action again on Wednesday
These are not everyday operations, but the experience gained in one's own province is now doubly valuable, everyone agreed, and it shows that the community sticks together in difficult times. Today, 150 firefighters from Mattersburg and Oberwart are once again on disaster duty in Lower Austria.