On Saturday evening, a devastating storm swept across Upper Austria and covered several roofs. At the knights’ festival in Linz, four children were injured by the wind chaos, a mother and her child were even seriously injured. The “Krone” spoke with an eyewitness about the terrible minutes.
The storm suddenly turned the city center of Linz into pure chaos on Saturday evening: “Chairs and tables flew around, as did tents and pavilions,” said an exhibitor at the knight’s festival who wished to remain anonymous.
Tree fell over
The biggest accident happened at the playground, where parts of a large tree fell around 8:30 p.m., hitting several people. It was particularly bad for a mother (41) and her nine-year-old daughter from Kremsmünster: they were lying unconscious on the ground. Passers-by, including a doctor, immediately provided first aid before an emergency doctor took over and took the two to hospital. Four other people were also injured in the incident, including three children aged eight, ten and twelve.
Meaning not recognized?
“We were already told that something could happen in the evening,” says the knight festival exhibitor. But the sudden storm surprised everyone: “I don’t think the organizers were aware of the impact.”
Event organizers, the Families Association, said there was no performance at the time of the accident and another performance was canceled. The treetop broke off from an adjacent private property and: “We hope for the best for the health of all those affected.”
The gusts of wind may have caught other organizers by surprise, as the Rainbow Parade, which was taking place at the same time, was only full when the storm was already approaching, the organizer tells ‘Krone’: “30 people came forward and put everything away so that no damage was caused.”
2500 Floriani’s in action
The rest of the results of the devastating storm night with wind gusts of over 100 km/h: In Linz, several roofs were covered and a parked vehicle was destroyed by a tree on a festival site in Kirchdorf an der Krems. Across the state, 175 fire departments with around 2,500 Florianis were involved in around 200 missions.
In Salzburg, the Electric Love Festival campsite was evacuated during lunchtime, and in Linz, an event at the Sandburg was canceled hours beforehand. The reason: concerns about the predicted storms and gales. Why the Linzer Ridderfestival was not ended early for safety reasons will probably remain a secret among the organizers.
Perhaps it all shows that sometimes people leave their common sense at home and ignore warnings, under the motto: “Nothing will happen”.
On Saturday, however, nature showed us again in a very impressive and painful way what power and destructiveness it possesses. And that as a human being you may have to be a little more humble and careful.
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.
