Furthermore, storms and the large amount of fresh snow in recent days have caused enormous problems in Austria. In addition to difficult road conditions, such as closures due to avalanche danger, the storm continues to strangle large parts of the country.
“For example, the Tauernautobahn is currently closed due to a stuck truck at Zederhaus. The avalanche danger also causes some roadblocks,” reports the ÖAMTC. “Due to stuck vehicles, connections for rescue work often have to be closed at short notice,” he warned. Snow chains are mandatory on 46 road sections.
The center of gravity of the traffic obstructions has shifted slightly towards Carinthia and Tyrol. “Currently, most traffic reports come from there.” Shortly after 07:00, the ÖAMTC mobility information counted 17 roadblocks due to avalanche danger, including the Hochkönig-Straße (B164) over the Dientner Saddle in Salzburg, the B138 over the Pyhrnpass in the Upper Austrian-Styrian border area and the Timmelsjochstrasse (B186) in Tyrol .
Avalanche danger level four out of five
Snow and wind greatly increased the avalanche danger, especially in western Austria. Already on Friday, a piece of snow in Tyrol had swept away a Chinese winter sportsman, and there was no rescue for him. The situation was particularly dangerous in Tyrol and Vorarlberg, but also in Salzburg. At higher elevations, there was a widespread level four avalanche danger on the five-point scale on Saturday.
Experts from the avalanche warning services called on winter sports enthusiasts to be very careful. Inexperienced skiers are currently not allowed to leave the slopes. Spontaneous avalanches are to be expected, remote triggering can also occur. Landslides and sliding snow avalanches are possible on steep grassy slopes below 2000 metres.
Lift operation partially stopped
In some areas, skiing was already unthinkable anyway – in Obersteiermark, for example, several lift operators decided to pull the emergency brake due to wind and snow and temporarily suspended lift work: on the Planai, the Hochwurzen, the Reiteralm and the Dachstein all cable car cars were standing still for the time being. The lifts should be working again shortly before noon.
This is also the case in Carinthia: in many ski areas, the lift was shut down as a precaution due to the enormous gusts of wind. Power outages were also reported from the Millstätter See to the Lavanttal.
Storm: fire brigades in continuous operation
The gusts of wind also remained firmly in their grip in many places. On Friday, the east of Austria was mainly affected. The storm led to a large number of operations in Lower Austria and Vienna: the Viennese professional fire brigade had to leave 170 additional operations in the past 24 hours. In addition to loose window frames, broken branches and leaking water in the attic, a detached zinc roof on a commercial building in Donaustadt also had to be secured and partially removed.
In Kottingbrunn (Baden district), Friday night’s storm caused the partial collapse of a shell. A wall of about 250 square meters fell over, parts ended up on the street and a car was also damaged. No one was injured.
The snowfall should slowly ease over the weekend, but conditions off the slopes are still considered precarious, according to experts. The wind should also slowly die down in the course of Sunday.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
