Thursday night’s most recent storm has left a trail of devastation in Upper Carinthian communities and valleys. The “Krone” went to the disaster areas.
On the way to the Radenthein disaster area, Friday morning started as a normal, beautiful and sunny summer day. But the mood changes abruptly at Kaning’s place name sign. An onward journey is not possible.
The road is awash with mud and rubble, the streams are three times as high and wide and the emergency services have their hands full.
“Had to stay somewhere else”
On the way we meet a young man who is walking towards his family. “I came from work and was unable to return home to Kaning due to Friday night’s storm. I had to leave my car behind,” says Stefan Penker, who had to spend the night in the valley during the devastating night of storms.
Ruined driveway to home
A young firefighter is shoveling away the mud just outside his house at the entrance to the city. His family was able to get out of the heavy rubble to safety in time.
“I used to smell the earth flowing down the river like a mudslide. We ran as fast as we could up a hill above our house,” firefighter Michael Poppernitsch said of the horror scenes. “Shortly afterwards, the access bridge to our house was torn away.”
Holidaymakers liberated by helicopter
Fortunately, no one was injured during those horrible hours. However, houses had to be evacuated.
“Danger was near! The ground was swept away from a holiday home,” says Mayor Michael Maier. “Mainly managed huts are affected and cut off from the outside world. 25 holidaymakers were flown out of the valley by helicopter in the afternoon and accommodated in hotels on site or already left.”
„The pain is deep!”
And nothing is left of the popular excursion destination Mühlenwanderweg. “The pain is deep! All but one of the mills have been washed away.”
According to the weather forecast, the emergency services cannot breathe a sigh of relief. A stormy weekend is ahead.
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.
