2023-08-07 00:26:34
VIENNA (AP) — Torrential rains and heavy flooding have battered southern Austria for the past three days, leaving one person dead following being swept away by a rapidly overflowing river Sunday, officials said.
After the person fell into the river, firefighters, divers and rescuers immediately began search operations, according to the press department of the Carinthia province. However, emergency teams were only able to recover the body.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer expressed his condolences on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, where he said that “our thoughts are with the relatives” of the deceased.
The provinces of Carinthia and Styria have been hit hard by torrential rains, mudslides and river overflows since Friday, causing water to enter buildings. Several towns have been evacuated.
Army elements are assisting emergency personnel in recovery efforts, including pumping water, evacuating civilians and setting up emergency shelters. In total there were 2,500 firefighters working in Carinthia and another 2,500 in Styria, the Austria Press news agency reported.
A town in the province of Styria, in the south of the country, was affected on Sunday night by a huge landslide that displaced or buried half of the town’s buildings, local press reported.
Nehammer announced on Saturday that the Austrian government will release resources from its disaster mitigation fund to support residents of affected regions.
Weather conditions were beginning to abate somewhat on Sunday, but torrents continued and the risk of avalanches remained high.
Extreme weather and flooding have also affected neighboring Slovenia. Prime Minister Robert Golob called the situation a “record flood” that might be the largest since the country gained independence in 1991.
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