Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, praised Austria’s flood relief on Platform X (formerly Twitter). It is “European solidarity” to help “neighbours who are also affected” (Slovenia, note). Meanwhile, cleanup work in Carinthia and Styria continued on Tuesday.
“Respect for the affected people and the tireless rescue workers. And a big thank you to Austria for offering help to its neighboring countries that have also been affected,” von der Leyen wrote on Tuesday afternoon. She spoke to Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on the phone and heard about the catastrophic floods and landslides in Carinthia and Styria, the top EU politician reported.
You can view Ursula von der Leyen’s related post here.
Levels drop
The level of rivers in Styria fell on Tuesday, for example that of the Mur, which is also important for Slovenia and Croatia. Civil defense alerts were lifted in the state in the afternoon. However, in the districts of Southeastern Styria, Leibnitz and Deutschlandsberg, the population was still called for caution. In individual regions, authorities have demarcated disaster mitigation areas. This means that civilians are not allowed to stay there. Disaster relief, for example, is an exception.
A total of more than 400 landslides were counted in Styria. The situation was stable on Tuesday, reports disaster management manager Harald Eitner. To stabilize the slopes, extensive and time-consuming work is required, for example, the installation of Krainer walls. According to fire service spokesperson Thomas Meier, 350 firefighters were still present on Tuesday.
Locked lidos
In Carinthia, the flood situation has also eased considerably, although civil protection warnings are still valid. The water drains slowly, the groundwater levels remain very high. The lidos in Klagenfurt and Loretto, which should have reopened on Wednesday, remain closed as a precaution. Both the parking spaces and the sunbathing areas were still under water.
Dozens of homes were evacuated. In addition, the situation regarding the landslides is still tense. Every day there are new landslides in the Völkermarkt district. Roads that have been closed are gradually reopening. One person was killed in the storm north of Klagenfurt on Sunday. The man had been on the closed Glan bike path when he was pulled out of the water and into the river.
As for the aid to Slovenia, which von der Leyen spoke about in her message, the Austrian Ministry of Defense is making helicopters available, among other things, to rescue people from roofs or to fly food to cut-off cities.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
