Storms: Major floods in Austria since 1990

Storms: Major floods in Austria since 1990

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Floods: State of emergency in Lower Austria and Vienna
Image: FIRE DEPARTMENT EMMERSDORF

  • 1991: The worst flood situation since the 1950s: The Salzach, Inn and Enns tributaries to the Danube region burst their banks. Parts of Lower Austria are completely flooded, and numerous cellars and streets in the Neunkirchen and Wiener Neustadt area are flooded. In Vienna, the flood mark is reached for the first time again. In the affected areas, six people are killed between July 31 and August 5, and the harvest on around 6,000 hectares of arable land is destroyed. Around 80 percent of the existing small game and 50 percent of the red deer are killed. The value of the crop losses for grain, vegetables and fruit amounts to around 21.8 million euros, and the total damage (including to buildings, riverbank structures and goods) is around 72.7 million euros.
  • 1994: In July, thunderstorms hit eastern Austria, causing millions of euros in damage. At the Hohe Warte in Vienna, more than half of the average monthly rainfall was recorded within three hours, at 45 litres per square metre. The rainfall had particularly bad effects on the Bisamberg. Masses of earth washed away by the rain damaged wine cellars, entire streets and cars parked there. A man was caught in the water and killed. Flooding also occurred in nearby communities in Lower Austria. In Wolkersdorf, the town centre resembled a large mud lake, and the B9 near Fischamend was flooded.
  • 1997: From July 4th to 8th, Austria is hit by the “big rain”. In Vienna, numerous cellars are flooded. In Upper Austria, the districts of Steyr, Schärding, Grieskirchen, Ried im Innkreis and Gmunden are the most affected. The persistent rains cause numerous mudslides. In Lower Austria, the B3 between Stockerau and Tulln is flooded to a depth of up to 15 centimeters for around one kilometer. In the center of Purkersdorf, the floods tear away a bridge. A pensioner drowns in the Gablitzbach. Large parts of the city of Baden are flooded, as is the government district in Sankt Pölten. The entire Lilienfeld district is cut off from the outside world.
  • 2002: In August, the flood of the century in Austria caused damage amounting to several billion euros. Nine people lost their lives. In Lower Austria, the Waldviertel and the regions along the Danube were mainly affected, with the absolute center of damage being the lower reaches and the mouth of the Kamp. In Upper Austria, it affected the Machland and the Eferding Basin, and many other centers of damage were spread across the state. In Styria, there was a local flood event centered in the Liezen district, and in Tyrol, a small-scale event centered in St. Johann. Salzburg was also affected.
  • 2005: On July 11, persistent rain caused major damage, especially in Salzburg. Mittersill in Pinzgau was the worst affected. The entire town was flooded and even the hospital had to be evacuated.
  • 2005: Severe storms hit Austria on August 22nd. In Styria, a 50-year-old woman died in a mudslide in the municipality of Gasen. One day later, water levels rose dramatically in western Austria. Rail traffic in Vorarlberg came to a complete standstill, and transport links between Tyrol and Vorarlberg had to be closed. In the Tyrolean Ötztal, a worker was killed by a rock avalanche, and two people were missing in Vorarlberg.
  • 2006: Dramatic scenes played out in Lower Austria in spring. On April 3, the dam on the March broke near Jedenspeigen (Gänserndorf district). The masses of water caused flooding in Dürnkrut, and half of the community had to be evacuated. The situation escalated over the course of days. Rainfall and melting snow had previously caused the water level of the Danube and most of the tributaries in the Weinviertel and Waldviertel to rise. The Thaya overflowed its banks in many places in the Waidhofen ad Thaya and Horn districts. The level of the Kamp also rose.
  • 2006: Extreme rainfall again led to extreme flooding in the northern Waldviertel at the end of June. The water level of the Thaya rose to unprecedented levels. Raabs ad Thaya was particularly affected, where the main square was under water and houses were badly damaged.
  • 2007: As much rain in a short period of time as would normally fall in the whole month causes massive problems in September. The Enns overflows its banks in Steyr and the Danube overflows its banks in Klosterneuburg. Lilienfeld is declared a disaster area.
  • 2009: At the end of June and beginning of July, rainfall repeatedly leads to flooding and precarious situations in Lower Austria, Styria and Burgenland. In some cases, the amount of rain reaches new records.
  • 2012: In July, heavy rain, hail and storms caused severe devastation through mudslides and floods, especially in Upper Styria. The town centre of St. Lorenzen im Paltental in the Liezen district was hit by a meter-high mudslide, and dozens of people had to evacuate their homes, some by airlift. In Thörl (Bruck/Mur district), a 47-year-old pedestrian died under a mudslide.
  • 2013: After persistent rainfall, the northern side of the Alps was hit by a wave of flooding at the beginning of June. While it first hit Vorarlberg, the Tyrolean lowlands and Salzburg, the floods then moved eastwards. The Danube and Enns overflowed their banks in Upper Austria, while the protective walls in Lower Austria, where they existed, were able to cope. It was only after days that the situation began to ease. Although the damage was far less than in 2002, it still amounted to hundreds of millions of euros.
  • 2018: At the end of October, the Lienz district was temporarily inaccessible by road after a storm and heavy rain. The situation was similar in many smaller towns. In Arnbach in the municipality of Sillian, the level of the Drau exceeded the 100-year flood mark. However, the Drau did not overflow its banks. In Carinthia, too, several towns were cut off from the outside world after storms and flood damage.
  • 2021: Heavy rainfall has triggered flood alarms in several federal states. The inner cities of Hallein in Salzburg and Kufstein in Tyrol are particularly under water, and in Vienna the fire brigade has also reported more than 900 operations due to flooded cellars and the like.

Source: Nachrichten

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