Severe Storm in Carinthia: 65 Fire Department Operations in One Night

Focal Points in Villach Land, Feldkirchen, and Klagenfurt Land

In St. Michael am Zollfeld in the district of Klagenfurt Land, a stream burst its banks directly next to the fire station. However, the emergency services intervened in time, so that according to the LAWZ, no basements in the surrounding area were flooded. The debris carried along, however, quickly filled the catchment container, which additionally complicated the operation.

The storm also left clear traces in the Lavanttal. In Wolfsberg, the sewerage system reached its capacity limits due to the large volumes of water. In addition, a hall belonging to a large pharmaceutical company located there was flooded, as the LAWZ further reported.

Power Outages and Flooded Hall in Wolfsberg

According to ORF Kärnten, around 80 households in Meiselding and Grafenbach were without power on Thursday morning. The energy providers were working together with the emergency services to restore supply. Employees of Kärnten Netz were also in continuous operation.

Kleine Zeitung reported on Thursday morning that fire departments in Carinthia were still busy clearing toppled trees from roads. The goal of these cleanup operations is to make the way to work and school safely passable again.

Cleanup Work Continues

ORF Kärnten tallied the night with more than 60 weather-related operations; the LAWZ spoke of 65 fire department operations in its tally. The discrepancy is explained by the timing of the respective surveys during the ongoing operations.

Weather Calming in Sight

According to meteorologists, the weather situation in Carinthia is expected to calm down again in the coming days. However, for the weekend, individual thunderstorms are still possible in the south of the federal state, which could locally bring heavy rain again.

According to the LAWZ, the cleanup work in the affected districts is likely to take several more days. In addition to the fire departments, road maintenance depots and energy providers are also still in operation to repair damage to infrastructure and supply networks.