Danger of epidemics in Styria: One million fish carcasses are collected

This area of ​​operations is also a challenge for the soldiers’ sense of smell: After the storms of the past few days, the Austrian Armed Forces deployed the 2nd Air Defense Battalion to Kalwang in Styria to provide disaster relief there.

• Also read: Damage and flooded roads in Styria and Carinthia

The approximately 40 soldiers are helping with the clean-up work at the destroyed fish farm because there is a risk of epidemics. More than a million fish carcasses weighing around 250 tons must be collected and disposed of before the decomposition progresses any further.

In addition to the Kalwang site, the Austrian Army and the 1st Engineer Battalion will also remove the accumulated driftwood from the Hirzmann Dam reservoir, as there is a risk of the dam breaking. Three engineer boats and a truck with a crane, as well as twelve soldiers, are being used for this purpose. This operation could be completed on Friday, but if there is further rain, the relief effort could extend to Saturday or Sunday.

After the heavy rainfall on Tuesday evening in Upper Styria, new thunderstorms on Wednesday evening caused further damage in Styria: In the areas of Murau, Judenburg, Knittelfeld and Leoben, the fire brigades were busy with pumping and securing work in around two dozen storm operations.

Disaster relief service in action

According to the situation report of the Styrian State Fire Brigade Association, clean-up work is also continuing in the communities of Thörl and Aflenz (Bruck-Mürzzuschlag district). There, the storm front caused flooding and major damage on Tuesday evening.

Disaster relief units (KHD trains) from other parts of the country were also deployed: More than 200 emergency personnel and around 50 vehicles from the fire departments of Graz-Umgebung, Feldbach, Liezen and Weiz were dispatched to the disaster area to actively support the approximately 150 local and regional emergency personnel in the complex clean-up and cleaning work.

In total, around 350 volunteer firefighters with a hundred vehicles were busy pumping out basements, making emergency repairs to roads and bridges, and removing mud.