Tornado tears off several house roofs in Eferding

Damage situation on site

According to the initial findings of the emergency services, no people were injured in the storm. No conclusive information was initially available on the exact number of affected buildings and the amount of property damage.

According to ORF, which was the first to report on the incident, the storm occurred in the municipal area of Eferding. Individual damages were also recorded in the nearby municipality of Kirchschlag, the broadcaster reported, citing local sources.

Confirmation by Geosphere Austria

The weather service Geosphere Austria confirmed that the event had been a tornado or a tornadic phenomenon. The exact strength on the Fujita scale was still being analyzed, it said.

Fire department commander Josef Haslhofer spoke on the ORF live stream of a very compact damage pattern within a narrowly confined area. The emergency services had been brought to the damage sites promptly.

Safety advice for residents

Local residents were asked not to remove scattered debris on their own but to notify the fire department instead. Damaged power lines could pose a danger, the emergency services warned.

The city of Eferding set up a contact point for affected homeowners, where citizens can turn with questions regarding insurance reports and cleanup work. The mayor thanked the helpers for their rapid response.

Insurance questions could only be conclusively clarified after a more detailed damage assessment, the city explained. The fire department advised that affected roofs should be provisionally sealed quickly to avoid subsequent damage from rain.

Weather situation and further forecast

Meteorologists pointed out that brief, intense whirlwinds in summer in Upper Austria were rare but not unusual. A heatwave in the region had favored the formation of such thunderstorm cells.

For the coming days, Geosphere Austria announced that the likelihood of thunderstorms would remain elevated. Citizens were urged to closely follow weather service warnings and to seek shelter in buildings when approaching storms.

As the wind subsided in the evening hours, the operations could be brought to a close one after another. The city of Eferding announced a closing press conference for the following day to provide a final figure for the damages.