The wrong kind of rocks: Severe flooding and mudslides hit Austria and southern Germany burying a train in Salzburg and leaving 70 stranded in their cars
- Upper and Lower Austria, Tyrol and Styria all reporting flooded streets as heavy rain hit country on Tuesday
- Three people were injured, one seriously, as train and coach caught in a mudslide and swept away in Salzburg
- In Upper Austria, 100 fire stations and 1,500 firefighters were called to more than 500 emergencies as rain hit
Severe flooding and mudslides hit parts of Austria and southern Germany, causing a train to be swept away in Salzburg and leaving 70 people stranded in their cars.
Heavy rain and hail showers hit large parts of the country on Tuesday night, with Upper and Lower Austria, Tyrol and Styria all reporting flooded streets in the regions.
In Salzburg, a train and a coach were caught in a mudslide and swept away, and it was reported three people were injured, one of them seriously, according to Kronen Zeitung.
The Pinzgau and Pongau regions in Salzburg were hit particularly hard by the storms, and 70 people were stuck in their cars between two mudslides.
In Salzburg, a train was caught in a mudslide as heavy rain and hail showers hit large parts of the country on Tuesday night with regions reporting flooding
Diggers begin to clean up the destruction after flooding in Wald im Pinzgau near Salzburg after storms battered the country overnight
People wearing helmets and life jackets help with rescue efforts and attempt to push a car out from a flooded underpass in St Johann im Pongau
Across the country there were reports of numerous incidents, including 200 reports of emergencies in Tyrol, as people’s garages and cellars were submerged in water and in Stummerberg, where two houses caught fire after being hit by lightning
The Pinzgau and Pongau regions in Salzburg were hit particularly hard by the storms as a bus in Dienten am Hochkoenig got destroyed in the floods and stuck under a bridge
Emergency services were able to rescue those stranded and took them to St Johann congress centre, before evacuating the Krimml train station in Pinzgau.
‘There have never been more events. The people are more and more afraid,’ said the Pinzgau fire brigade chief Claus Portenkirchner.
More than 100 fire brigades across the district and 1,500 firefighters were called to more than 500 emergencies as water flooded streets in Upper Austria.
In the districts of Gmunden, Kirchdorf and Steyr-Land, the state fire brigade command reported they were mainly called out to help assist people who has water in their homes and cellars.
There were also around 200 reports of emergencies in Tyrol, as debris floated through the streets and people’s garages and cellars were submerged in water, however no injuries were reported. In Stummerberg, two houses caught fire after being hit by lightning.
‘There have never been more events. The people are more and more afraid,’ said the Pinzgau fire brigade chief Claus Portenkirchner, where a train was swept away in a mudslide
A railway line appears damaged and surrounded by debris as the devastation from the bad weather begins to show across the country
Residents are pictured cleaning up in St Johann im Pongau as the region was hit particularly bad by the weather
In Lower Austria, heavy rainfall and storms led to 420 reports of problems caused by the storms, and almost 2,000 firefighters from 180 stations joined to deal with the damage.
More than 200 flooded cellars and several street underpasses had to have the water pumped out and 150 trees that had fallen into power and telephone lines and had to be removed.
Franz Resperger, from the regional command, said the districts of Amstetten, St. Pölten, Melk, Tulln, Baden and Mödling were hardest hit by the storm, and the fire department emergency number ‘rang every minute’.
In Styria, the Liezen district was particularly hard hit by the storms. A car had to be salvaged from a flooded street underpass, and a river overflowed adding to chaos caused by several mudslides.
However, it appears the country is through the worst of the bad weather, as meteorologists at UBIMET predict no further rain and temperatures of 25 degrees.
In the Pinzgau and Pongau regions in Salzburg, 70 people were stuck in their cars between two mudslides, and emergency services were able to rescue those stranded and took them to St Johann congress centre
In Upper Austria, more than 100 fire brigades and 1,500 firefighters were called to more than 500 emergencies as water flooded streets
This comes after one person died and another is missing when a flood brought down a bridge in Bavaria, Germany, on Monday.
Rescue teams have recovered the body of a woman from the water and are still searching for one more person who was swept off a bridge by sudden floods in the south of the country. Eight other people caught up in the flooding were rescued uninjured.
Heavy, sudden rains on Monday afternoon had turned the Hammersbach creek in the Valley of Hell near the town of Grainau into floods which tore down a wooden bridge, sweeping down two people into the water.
The other people were caught by the water or cut off from their paths by the flood elsewhere in the steep valley.
More than 160 helpers and helicopters were involved in the rescue missions. The body of the woman, who was not identified, was pulled out of the water on Tuesday morning, local police said.
In addition to the eight people rescued from the floods Monday, authorities said they helped 108 people who had to spend the night in cottages higher up on the slopes of the valley because of the flood.
Franz Resperger, from the regional command, said the districts of Amstetten, St. Pölten, Melk, Tulln, Baden and Mödling were hardest hit by the storm, and the fire department emergency number ‘rang every minute’
Fire brigades in many regions were called out to assist people who has water in their homes and cellars as water levels rose across the districts of Gmunden, Kirchdorf and Steyr-Land
A destroyed tourist bus gets stuck under a bridge after heavy rain battered the country. It was reported three people were injured, one of them seriously, as the bus was swept away
The hikers were led down the valley Tuesday by mountaineers, the Bavarian Red Cross said. None of them had been injured.
The Hollentalklamm, or Valley of Hell, is a popular destination for hikers from across the country and abroad.
Severe weather conditions also led to a state of emergency in northern Germany, where a tornado hit the village of Grossheide near the North Sea coast, late Monday and destroyed more than 50 homes.
Police said nobody was injured, but several homes were so badly destroyed that they were no longer inhabitable.
Across Germany’s southern border, in Austria, at least four people were injured by floods and mud, dozens of people wee rescued from cars.
Last month, more than 200 people died in deadly floods in western Germany.
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