Heavy rain, strong winds and storms have hit several central European countries, due to the volatile weather, and several settlements in the state of Lower Austria (which also includes the capital Vienna) were declared a disaster area on Saturday due to the risk of flooding. Local The standard The newspaper says that the Danube has already flooded in Vienna. Fire department spokesman Gerald Schimpf said that the river has flooded several buildings and cellars. The Vienna fire brigade was alerted 400 times on Saturday afternoon. The situation is similarly catastrophic in the Czech Republic, according to the latest information, more than 180 patients had to be evacuated from the Brothers of Mercy hospital in Brno, and the ambulance service and the fire department were involved in the evacuation of the patients.
The Austrian fire brigade had to go to several locations, including settlements in Burgenland. Due to the risk of flooding, the evacuation of residents had already begun on Friday evening, for example in Langenlois, the evacuation of local residents is still ongoing, according to reports. moisture. According to forecasts, due to the large amount of rain, water will flow from the Ottenstein reservoir, which could cause the North Kamp River to flood, which is why the residents of the Kamptal wine region have already been evacuated.
Local leaders in the country announced on Saturday afternoon that they expect record flooding and a rise in water levels not seen in a hundred years, or even according to some forecasts. Never since the beginning of the measurements I have not seen in the country. Wetter Blog.at X-post According to the Lainsitz in Waldviertel, the flood level is higher than the last peak measured thirty years ago. In addition to the Lainsitz, the Zwettl has already emerged from its bed.
The forecast is not encouraging at all, said Stefan Pernkopf, deputy governor of the state, at a press conference in Tulln. According to experts, 230 mm of rain can be expected in the next 48 hours, in addition to the amount that has fallen so far. Due to the amount of rainfall, settlements along the Danube are also in the danger zone. If the weather does not calm down, the river that runs through our country could cause serious damage to many settlements in neighboring Austria. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer He said The army is prepared to mobilize up to a thousand soldiers over the weekend if necessary.
The Austrian paper also, a Kurier.at saysAlthough there is a risk of flooding in Lower Austria, snow is a problem in the country's mountains due to Hurricane Boris. The snowfall not only makes traffic impossible, but can also damage power lines. As of Saturday morning, 4,000 households in Styria were still without electricity. According to the Kurier article, rescue teams were sent to track down a German couple who had gone hiking in the Gerlossteinwand mountains near Tyrol despite the weather conditions and warnings. We are talking about snow-covered Tyrol Idokép.hu He also shared a photo on his Instagram page:
Shocking footage was also posted on the mountaineering group Hóhatár – Mozgásvilág on Facebook. The post's creator, László Pintér, shared the video, which was taken in Obertauern, Austria, with the following text: “Such recordings can usually be made in the middle of winter in the Alps, not in the middle of September.”
The storms not only caused disruption in Austria, but four people lost their lives due to flooding in Romania and more than 60,000 households were left without electricity in the Czech Republic. According to Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladek, the situation could be as serious as during the storms of 1997 and 2002, when floods in eastern Moravia killed 50 people and caused billions of euros in damage.
In Hungary, a hurricane-force windstorm may hit Transdanubia on Saturday, and winds of 110-120 km/h may also occur in the Sopron, Alpkaglia, Bakony and Lake Balaton areas.
