As expected, gusts of wind are currently causing problems in Styria: around 4,000 households were without power on Saturday morning and further disruptions are expected. The fire brigade has already been deployed on dozens of missions. The precipitation is expected to become more intense during the day.
It started at 2 a.m., reports Urs Harnik, spokesman for Energie Steiermark: Trees were knocked over by “hurricane-like gusts of wind,” which in turn damaged power lines.
Initially, around 4,000 households were affected. The focus was on communities such as Raaba and Hausmannstätten southeast of Graz, the Birkfeld area and, in some places, eastern Upper Styria. The Ennstal has so far been spared.
“We are talking about a lot of local events, but no widespread disruptions,” says Harnik. The crews are busy with repair work. They are facing an intense weekend, with strong winds expected to remain until Sunday evening.
Fire brigades in heavy weather operations
The fire department has also been called in: according to the State Fire Service Association, there has been an “increased number of operations” in the past 24 hours. The majority of these operations involved “removing fallen trees that were blocking roads.” However, pumping work played a completely secondary role.
In Upper Styria, vehicles stuck in snow had to be recovered. On Saturday morning, there was an increasing number of operations in the northern part of the Graz region (Frohnleiten, Peggau, Stattegg, Weinitzen) due to hurricane-like wind gusts.
The state warning center also said Saturday morning that no major damage has been caused in Styria. The precipitation forecast for the second half of the night has been postponed, but in the area around Bad Aussee it is now snowing down to below 1,000 meters above sea level. Rainfall is expected to hit large parts of the country by noon.
Railway line to Friedberg closed
The ÖBB continues to advise against unnecessary train journeys: In the Styria-Lower Austria border region, a mudslide between Aspang and Friedberg has already caused a closure that will remain in place until at least Monday evening.
Source: Krone
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