There is talk of a millennium flood in large parts of the Pielachtal. In the municipality of Markersdorf-Haindorf alone, 100 people were evacuated – mostly by plane. The real extent of the damage cannot even be estimated.
“Even our oldest residents can’t remember such a storm,” says Fritz Ofenauer, mayor of Markersdorf-Haindorf in the picturesque Pielachtal. 500 of the approximately 850 houses in the town were affected by the flooding. Almost 100 people had to be evacuated – initially by the fire brigade with the Zille and water rescue, later only by the Federal Army from the air. “They already had the water on the ground floor and it kept rising. “And that while many people have already built higher buildings,” says Ofenauer.
Alternative accommodation without electricity
According to the mayor, many stayed with friends or family, but there was also shelter in the fire station. And in some cases, the town hall could also be used as alternative housing. “Unfortunately, the water also entered the basement there and caused a power outage until Tuesday morning,” said Ofenauer.
The flood protection in Markersdorf-Haindorf is currently only available on paper. “It is about to be submitted,” said Ofenauer. Postscript: “But that would probably have been too little for this millennium flood.”
A similar picture prevails at other locations in the Pielachtal. Communities such as Kirchberg and Rabenstein were cut off from the outside world, and in Ober-Grafendorf the entire cemetery was flooded for the first time. “The Pielach has never been so high,” it says. Numerous mudflows caused further damage.
Further evacuations after landslide
Unfortunately, the Pielachtal is not the only affected region in the St. Pölten district. Things are not looking any better in the area around Böheimkirchen. 80 percent of the residents of the community of 5,200 people are affected by the flooding. The last time a flood occurred here in 1997, it caused flooded cellars. Until Tuesday morning, many households had no electricity or drinking water. “The sewage system is currently causing us problems,” says mayor Franz Haunold. In the Weisching district, another six houses had to be evacuated on Tuesday due to a landslide.
Neulengbach is also considered a hotspot. A hundred people had to leave their homes there. Alternative quarters have been set up in the town hall and Lengenbacher Hall; some houses are still uninhabitable. At least: the drinking water supply remained largely at the same level, although three of the five wells cannot be used temporarily.
Mobile toilets and false alarms
In St. Pölten, the Pottenbrunn district was particularly hard hit as a result of a dam breach. Repairing the defective wastewater drainage there will take days; five toilet container systems are ready. A false alarm also caused a stir and even the town hall itself fell victim to it.
It was about the failure of the gas supply and the risk to households if they do not turn off the gas tap themselves. “There is no danger, Pottenbrunn will still be supplied with gas,” confirm the city and EVN. The danger situation on Grasberg in the Wasserburg district was more acute. There, the ground in the cellar alley is increasingly starting to crack. It was already in danger of slipping on Tuesday morning.
Source: Krone
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