Onset of winter: A21 completely closed in Lower Austria

Deep winter driving conditions caused problems not only in the very west – Vorarlberg and Tyrol – but also in Upper and Lower Austria. The Vienna outer ring motorway A21 in Lower Austria was closed in both directions on Saturday afternoon due to several stalled vehicles.

As Asfinag informed, a large-scale diversion was set up. It was not possible to predict how long the A21 would be closed. A complete closure had to be imposed between the Steinhäusl and Vösendorf junctions after several vehicles got stuck on the slopes due to heavy snowfall in the Vienna Woods area. Asfinag is in full operation and is working with towing companies to recover the cars, it was said. It was recommended to bypass the A21 extensively via the Kremser expressway S33, the Stockerauer expressway S5 and the Danube bank motorway A22.

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Deep winter road conditions

The ÖAMTC reported deep winter road conditions, especially on the north side of the Alps and on the eastern edge of the Alps. Numerous main routes were difficult to pass on Saturday morning and there were repeated traffic jams and accidents. Motorways were also affected and vehicles got stuck, which in turn made road clearing work more difficult. For example, on Saturday morning the western motorway (A1) near Salzburg Nord was not passable due to truck recovery work. The situation on the Tauern motorway (A10) was little better; the Katschberg tunnel had to be closed at short notice in the southbound direction. In Tyrol, the Brenner Road (B182) near Gries was closed due to stuck vehicles and there were also obstructions on the A13, the Brenner Motorway, due to snowfall. Due to the snow load, trees were repeatedly broken – the fire brigades and clearance services worked at full speed.

91 people trapped in a nightclub in Dornbirn

In Tyrol there were also disruptions in rail traffic and power supplies. In a nightclub in the Vorarlberg town of Dornbirn, 91 people were stuck for five hours after a landslide. In western Austria, 50 centimeters of fresh snow or more had fallen in many places in the mountains overnight, which is why the second highest avalanche warning level (large, level 4) was declared due to the conditions. This referred to locations above the tree line or 2,000 meters above sea level. Spontaneous avalanche releases were possible at any time and could endanger exposed areas. The avalanche warning services of the federal states described the often weak connection between new and old snow as problematic. Winter sports enthusiasts were urged to exercise extreme caution.

Due to the heavy snowfall, a landslide occurred in Dornbirn-Gütle around 4 a.m., which displaced parts of Ebniterstrasse and the parking lot of the “Conrad Sohm” nightclub. This meant that it was initially not possible for the 91 local guests to leave the area. The city of Dornbirn reported that it was finally possible to evacuate the building at around 9:30 a.m. Further landslides are possible, so the nightclub must remain closed for the time being.

Brenner motorway closed in sections

In Tyrol, the Brenner motorway (A22) had to be closed in sections due to stuck vehicles, but it was passable again on Saturday morning. According to Asfinag, 21 clearing vehicles were in use on the Brenner. Due to a power outage caused by a cable fire, the Roppener Tunnel on the Inntalautobahn (A12) was also temporarily impassable. It was reopened to traffic around 10 a.m. There were problems with the electricity not only in the tunnel, but also in households in 19 communities. According to ORF Radio Tirol, Sölden in the Ötztal was also affected. In the Zillertal, the Ginzling district was temporarily cut off from the environment because a section of the Zillertal Road (B169) had to be closed due to the risk of avalanches. A bypass was not possible.

According to the ÖBB, there were interruptions in rail traffic between Imst and Schönwies in the Landeck district and between Innsbruck and Scharnitz. There were also disruptions at Innsbruck Airport, where flight operations were restricted. Local rail transport in Vorarlberg worked, but train journeys to St. Margrethen (Switzerland) or Lindau (Germany) were not possible.

ÖBB: No trips possible at Deutsches Eck until Sunday

The ÖBB also pointed out that no trips would be possible at the Deutsches Eck between Salzburg and Kufstein or Munich until Sunday. Trains between Salzburg and Tyrol are sometimes rerouted via Zell am See, and delays of up to 2 hours must be expected.

In the state of Salzburg, the avalanche situation worsened due to the amount of new snow, especially in the Hohe Tauern area. The avalanche warning service of the state of Salzburg classified the danger of slabs of snow as “major”. In particular, there were warnings about the high susceptibility to disruption in fresh snow. In a press release on Saturday, the Alpine police warned of a “delicate avalanche situation” and urged “conscious restraint when off-piste off-piste or on ski tours”.

The Salzburg state fire brigade command has reported 100 missions so far. The main areas affected were Flachgau and Tennengau. As in Upper Austria, the majority of alarms were due to broken trees and stuck vehicles. Both the fire brigade and the state police mainly reported property damage. No one was seriously injured. The damage was also minimal. The exception was in Oberndorf, where a downed tree landed on a house, as Reinhard Krallinger from LFK reported. Incidentally, most of the alarms arrived between 5:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. “When it gets light and people get up, the damage will be discovered.”

790 missions in Upper Austria

The onset of winter also kept emergency services very busy in Upper Austria. From midnight to Saturday lunchtime alone (from around 900 fire departments throughout Upper Austria), 430 fire brigades completed over 790 missions with around 6,400 emergency services, the state fire brigade command announced in an initial balance sheet. Most incidents involved stalled vehicles and massive snow pressure that cut power lines. According to Netz OÖ, around 26,000 households were without power at around 10 a.m.

“Please stay at home and avoid unnecessary journeys by car,” appealed Hannes Niedermayr from the Upper Austrian State Fire Brigade Command. From the central area to the Innviertel, the emergency services are already “quite stressed”. Trees that fell due to snow loads blocked roads across the country and tore down power lines; vehicles had to be recovered in all districts. The nationwide power outages alone are tying up our resources. The LFK has given the order to occupy the bases “to the extent possible” during blackouts so that the population can seek help there. Especially in the Braunau district, the officer on duty described the situation as “intense” in terms of the operations. “And it’s only morning,” emphasized Niedermayr.

Two firefighters injured in Walding

In Walding (Urfahr-Environment district), the snow operation on Saturday was almost fatal for two comrades. While a 55-year-old and a 23-year-old were trying to get a fallen tree off the road, another trunk broke under the weight of the fresh snow and hit the two men. “They were all wearing protective equipment,” said Commander Dominik Angerer. The older man’s helmet had also taken a beating. The experienced comrade remained in the hospital for the time being, while his younger colleague was able to leave the clinic.

Avalanche warning level increased to “significant”.

Due to fresh snow and so-called wind slabs, the avalanche warning level rose to “significant” (level 3). Despite the wintry driving conditions, the police caught a total of 45 drunk drivers and six drivers under the influence of drugs during special checks on Saturday night, as they announced in a press release. One of the accidents caused by slippery snow also caused a 32-year-old alcoholic driver in Braunau to blow the fuse. A man of the same age in the car behind him slipped at a traffic light due to summer tires and lightly touched the car. The drunk man got out, grabbed the local man and hit him in the face with his fist.

• On the topic: Steyrer freaked out in a rear-end collision in Braunau

Tanker truck overturned in the Melk district

In Lower Austria, heavy snowfall on Friday evening and Saturday night meant that fire departments had to rescue around 170 vehicles in the past 24 hours. A tanker truck overturned on the B36 in the Melk district, fire department spokesman Klaus Stebal said. Around 70 missions were recorded due to fallen trees and shrubs. In the Amstetten district, the winter conditions led to almost 30 missions, reported the district fire brigade command. The fire departments were primarily called to rescue vehicles and storm operations, for example because trees were blocking the road.

There was also snow in Vienna on Saturday, but to the relief of the emergency services, the associated disruptions were limited. The professional fire department reported “smaller operations” on Saturday afternoon, but the workload was manageable.

The ÖAMTC appealed to road users to find out about the current road and weather situation before starting their journey and to take snow chains with them when traveling to higher altitudes. No non-essential journeys should be avoided at this time.

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