Many Styria have to complain about enormous damage after Thursday’s heavy storm. A family of eight in Weißkirchen was particularly hard hit. You don’t have a roof over your head right now.
Debris is scattered throughout the building, broken roof beams sticking out from under a makeshift white tarpaulin. In the garden you can see the twisted remains of the large children’s trampoline, one of the two dogs in the family has been missing since the storm.
“I’m afraid he’s buried somewhere under the rubble,” Josef Zauner (60) explains as he shows “Krone” the full extent of the destruction at his home in Weißkirchen.
Roof suddenly flies away
“It all went very quickly. In short, it was a big bang and our roof was gone,” he describes the anxious moments.
His wife Susanne had to watch the sad scene from the window. Also those moments when the wiped roof hit the extension and there too a huge hole tore in the ceiling.
Many hours without power
The top floor of the main house is currently uninhabitable and the heavy rain has also caused water damage. Large wet spots have already been applied to the ceiling of the first floor – that’s where the children sleep. “At least we can count ourselves lucky that nothing happened to either of us,” says mother Susanne.
The family never wants to experience such a night again: “We didn’t have electricity again until 10:30 the next day,” she says.
Winter is coming
Fortunately, the family of eight has their home insured against such damage. But now a race against time begins: experts, insurance workers and craftsmen will have their hands full in Styria for the coming weeks.
“It’s already the end of August. I hope the roof can be repaired before winter,” says Josef Zauner. “I would have done it myself in the past, but in two years I had six operations on my knees, hips and spine .”
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.
