Tens of thousands on site – volunteers – real heroes of the disaster

The local firefighters urged the future victim to ‘give up’ her house and get to safety. But Liane P. (81) was not convinced – probably because she had spent almost her entire life there. When the nearby Egelseegraben, an inconspicuous stream, became a major danger, it was too late.

Drowned with toy poodle
“Our dear neighbor drowned with her beloved ‘Elli’, a silver-gray toy poodle. “She didn’t deserve such a death,” says the couple who live opposite the old lady. The body of the pensioner and that of the dead four-legged friend were recovered by Florianis on the four walls in which the Lower Austrian had felt so safe. Touching detail: in the flooded garden of the pensioner, a lifelike statue of “Elli” rises from the water like a memorial.

“We must keep our heads held high.”
The first rays of sunshine that broke through the dark cloud cover on Tuesday not only gave the tens of thousands of helpers courage, but also gave the victims a glimmer of hope. “We have been through a storm and now we can only hold our heads up,” says flood victim Dr. Helmut Faulenbach ahead – based on the famous Liverpool cheering song “You’ll never walk alone”, that you are never alone in difficult times.

As reported, the doctor had to wait more than 48 hours before he was rescued. Among others, there were ‘everyday heroes’ from the Salzburger Lungau who came to the aid of their fire brigade colleagues in Pottenbrunn (Lower Austria) and there – in the district of St. Pölten – turned on the pumps to free the dirty brown. splashing water. But that was just one of hundreds of scenes that showed what the country is all about.

Tanks in action and cemetery flooded
In addition to soldiers on relief missions, a charity army is also deployed in the flood areas, from firefighters, Red Cross paramedics and police forces to volunteers from the “For Each Other” campaign of “Krone” and Caritas. One of many positive examples from local politics: Mayor Michael Strasser of Weinburg (Lower Austria) in the Pielachtal had requested an armored recovery vehicle from the Federal Army in order to secure a defense that had been critically agitated until recently.

Scary detail on the side: In the neighboring town of Obergrafendorf, the flood had even reached the dead – the cemetery was completely under water. The water has now receded from the graves and the work of the living continues. Meanwhile, more and more people displaced by the great flood in Lower Austria are returning to their homes. A small step back to normality.

The slow way back
After torrential rains across the country subsided and water levels dropped, clean-up efforts have begun.

All sorts of strange things are coming to light: at the S-Bahn station Weidlingau in Vienna, emergency services have recovered a wrecked car – thankfully there were no people in it. Meanwhile, pumpkins have washed up from Upper Austria to Vienna. According to Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig, the farmers’ harvest has been destroyed; the damage cannot yet be quantified. The same applies to the infrastructure, which we are currently working hard to restore.

First the good news: According to ASFINAG, the country’s major motorways and expressways were all passable again on Tuesday. However, many federal roads and minor traffic arteries in Upper and Lower Austria were still closed to traffic on Tuesday evening.

140 ships were stranded
Nothing else works on the water: a total of 140 ships are stranded on the flooded Danube, which remains off-limits to boat traffic until further notice.

The Austrian Federal Railways are also working hard to reopen the routes affected by the heavy storms. In Upper Austria, the Almtalbahn is running as usual again, while the Mühlkreis and Donauuferbahn are still affected. In Lower Austria, the situation is more precarious: the western ÖBB railway line between Vienna and St. Valentin remained closed, as did the eastern line between Vienna and Hungary. The southern railway line is passable for this.

The Wiener Linien breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday at the first rays of sunshine. Normal activities in the city will soon resume.

In order to facilitate the efforts of all passengers in the coming days, all transport companies in the eastern region (Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland) will recognize the tickets of the other companies until Sunday.