Image: ZEITUNGSFOTO.AT (APA)
There were over 500 fire brigade operations, mainly because of fallen trees, said a spokesman for the Tyrolean fire brigade association to the APA. The focus was on the Oberland and especially the district of Imst. There were no reports of injuries for the time being.
Spokesman Anton Wegscheider announced that the storm, which blew at up to 161 km/h in the provincial capital of Innsbruck, also occasionally blew off roofs. Larger-scale damage was not known in the state capital for the time being. Flooded basements were also recorded from time to time. Around 130 fire brigades were deployed nationwide.
affected by rail traffic
Rail traffic was also affected: due to storm damage, no long-distance trains ran between Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof and Landeck-Zams for the time being. In addition, the railway line between Telfs-Pfaffenhofen and Imst-Pitztal station was interrupted. The duration of the blocks was not foreseeable for the time being, according to the ÖBB. Apparently there was massive damage to the overhead line.
Federal President switched from train to car
As the “Tiroler Tageszeitung” reported online, a Railjet – also due to damage to the overhead line – came to a standstill shortly before the train station in Roppen. The area has been secured. The passengers were then able to get off and were led to the station by ÖBB employees and the fire brigade. According to the report, Federal President Van der Bellen was also in the Railjet. He was on his way to Bregenz, where he will open the festival there on Wednesday. Shortly after 5 p.m., the President was able to continue his journey to Vorarlberg in a car, it said. According to the online edition of the “Kleine Zeitung”, the Federal President and all other passengers had to wait around two hours in the wagons.
There were also occasional roadblocks on the roads, mainly due to fallen trees. For example on the Inntalautobahn (A12) near Telfs in the direction of Kufstein, as the ÖAMTC told the APA. In the meantime, however, one lane was free again, it was said. In the Roppener Tunnel in the Oberland, the storms resulted in a power failure, and there was also a blockage here. Roads also had to be closed in side valleys such as the Zillertal, Ötztal or Pitztal. The ÖAMTC referred to the prevailing heavy travel and the resulting traffic jams. You should refrain from trips that are not absolutely necessary for the time being.
The state also had to contend with widespread power outages: according to information from the state’s own network operator Tinetz, around 5 p.m. 325 transformer stations in 39 communities were affected. Especially in the Pitztal, the riot squads were kept on their toes.
Civil defense warning in Silz
In the meantime, a civil defense warning has also been issued in the municipality of Silz in the Imst district, the state of Tyrol announced. The mayor of the municipality asked the population not to leave the buildings for the time being – because of parts flying around through covered roofs. The warning was lifted a little later.
In several initial reports from the Tyrol control center, there was also talk of mountain emergencies, for example in the Karwendel mountains, but also in Münster and Imst. According to a report in the Tyrolean edition of the “Kronen Zeitung”, the gondolas in the Zillertal Arena in the valley of the same name were at a standstill due to a power failure. Huts were also affected. Numerous hikers – including many children – were therefore waiting at the mountain station, it was said. They are to be brought down into the valley by bus.
2000 households in Styria without electricity
The severe storms moved to Tyrol across Styria and left damage: According to Energie Steiermark, around 2000 households had no electricity on Tuesday evening. The Ennstal was most affected, as well as Southwest Styria, which had been badly affected the day before, and the Mürztal. Some sections of the Ennstalbundesstraße (B320) had to be closed for clean-up work.
As reported by the Liezen area fire brigade command, numerous trees had fallen on the B320 due to gusts of wind. Hotsports were Mandling, Schladming, Oberhaus, Haus, Ruperting, Gröbming and Stainach: “Alone between Schladming and Haus im Ennstal, around two dozen mature trees fell onto the road in the three-lane section,” it said in a broadcast. “Miraculously” no vehicles were affected there.
However, according to initial information from the fire brigade in Oberhaus, one person was injured when a tree fell on a moving car. Trees fell on a garden shed in Aigen im Ennstal. In Ramsau, the roof of a stable building was removed. A total of 25 fire brigades with around 400 men were deployed in the Liezen district.
Source: Nachrichten
