Late in the evening, around 50 fire departments were busy with over 105 operations. Several streets were closed, and in some places the water was up to one meter high. The “Augustwiesn” in Hollabrunn was evacuated, the fire department reported in a press release. Train traffic also had to be stopped due to the flooding.
However, the water levels of the Runzenbach and Göllersbach in the Hollabrunn and Göllersdorf area are continuing to rise, the fire department added on Saturday night. The Hollabrunn substation was flooded, and the critical situation was defused with the help of large pumps. Even the fire station was flooded. At the same time, there were several traffic accidents. A total of five people were injured.
Photo gallery: Severe storms in the Hollabrunn district
(Photo: FF Hohenwarth/Stefan Obritzhauser) Bild 1/41
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Floods
The situation in the Hollabrunn area escalated at around 7 p.m. due to a strong local storm with over 80 millimeters of rainfall within a very short time, so the district command center was occupied. Two disaster relief trains were alerted. In the Hollabrunn area, some streets were closed due to flooding. Areas badly affected included the street near the horse paddock, the tennis hall and a facility for the disabled. 22 horses from an affected riding stable in the city were rescued.
The event area of the “Augustwiesn” currently taking place in Hollabrunn was evacuated. The guests were accommodated in the town hall in cooperation with the fire department and the town council. Streets were washed away, partially demolished and had to be closed. For example, the L43 in the Hollabrunn area is closed. Because the railway embankment was washed away, according to the press release, train traffic had to be suspended at least until the morning hours.
In the Göllersdorf area, a flood retention basin with a critical water level was secured by using large pumps. When a dam burst in the Mitterweg area in the town of Hollabrunn, the emergency services also deployed telehandlers. Another emergency hotspot was in the Oberfellabrunn area. In total, around 50 fire brigades with around 700 members were deployed during the night. More than 1,800 sandbags were provided. The clean-up work will continue for several more days.
Mudslides on roads in Tyrol
Storms with heavy rain also led to mudslides on roads and local flooding in parts of the Landeck and Innsbruck-Land districts on Friday evening. St. Anton am Arlberg (Landeck district) was particularly affected, where several streets in the town center were flooded. A mudslide hit the Arlberg federal road (B 197), which had to be closed on the Tyrolean side for the time being. The closure is expected to last for several hours.
According to initial information, no one was injured. Since the Arlberg tunnel is currently closed for renovation work, both road connections to the Arlberg were impassable for the time being. Vorarlberg was initially only accessible from Tyrol via the Lech Valley.
As St. Anton’s mayor Helmut Mall explained to the online edition of the “Tiroler Tageszeitung”, a large mudslide occurred at the Jungbrunntobel. The Steissbach and other streams also overflowed their banks. The fire brigade had to pump out many cellars and garages.
Three cars swept into river
Dramatic moments had obviously taken place on the banks of the Rossana, as video footage showed. The masses of water are said to have swept at least three cars into the river. According to initial information from the emergency services, however, there were no people in the vehicles or in the water.
In the Innsbruck-Land district, massive landslides also occurred locally as a result of a severe storm over the western low mountain range. The Sellraintalstraße (L13) was closed for the time being after a large mudslide in the municipality of Sellrain between Sellrain and Kematen, the state announced in the evening. A bypass was possible via Oberperfuss, Grinzens or Kühtai.
According to current information, the road will probably remain closed at least until Monday due to the size of the mudslide and the current poor weather forecast, it was later announced. A new assessment of the situation will be made on Monday.
The Götzen state road (L12) was also impassable after a landslide. Götzens could be reached via the Bachele municipal road. The municipality of Grinzens (Innsbruck-Land district) was also affected, where cellars had to be pumped out.
