Monday’s storm front caused storm damage, flooding, fallen trees and flooding rivers in parts of Austria. In Carinthia, Styria and Upper Austria, the fire brigades had to carry out hundreds of missions. Cleanup work continued on Tuesday.
The fire brigades in Carinthia alone registered a total of 220 storm actions on Monday afternoon and evening. As the state fire service announced in a broadcast, 114 fire brigades with more than 1,300 emergency services were deployed. The storm front had moved across the state from the west with heavy rain, gale and hail.
Ferndorf in the lower Drautal (Villach-Land district) and St. Paul in the Lavanttal were particularly hard hit, where the fire brigade was on duty until well after midnight. The collegiate Sint-Pauluskerk was also closed on Tuesday: several church windows were destroyed by the hail and there was a risk of falling glass parts.
Clean up work continues
The cleaning work – with the support of equipment from the disaster camp of the Carinthian State Fire Association and fire brigades from the Völkermarkt district – continued on Tuesday morning.
Huge hail damage in Styria
According to the association of the state fire brigade, several strong thunderstorm cells with hail showers were discharged over Styria early in the evening on Monday. Graz, the area around Graz – especially Deutsch-Feistritz, where roofs were damaged by heavy hail – Deutschlandsberg, Voitsberg, Bruck/Mur, Bad Radkersburg and Weiz were particularly affected. Large areas of agricultural crops such as grains, grassland, maize and rapeseed were destroyed, causing millions in damage, according to hail insurance.
A number of fire brigades were deployed. The Oberland of Styria was largely spared.
900 firefighters in Upper Austria
In Upper Austria, a thunderstorm cell moved from the Innviertel to the center on Monday evening, causing flooded cellars and fallen trees. In Grieskirchen a tree fell on a pool, in Saxen (Perg district) a cycle path was blocked by a fallen tree. A total of 60 storm operations involved approximately 900 firefighters, which was relatively few compared to other events, according to the state fire department. Occasionally, however, hail caused damage to gardens and agriculture.
In Upper Austria alone, the hail insurance reported damage of five million euros.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
