Dams burst: 100 homes evacuated

Large bags and several disaster relief trains, including two from Upper Austria, are working to cover the broken dam in Hadersdorf am Kamp, state fire brigade commander Dietmar Fahrafellner told noe.ORF.at. More than 100 houses had to be evacuated due to water entering the residences. It’s a “difficult path,” says Fahrafelner, because at this point you can only help from the air, and among other things, you have to fill sacks with tons of rubble.

Driessen dam in Pottenbrunn (St. Bolton district) also broke, it was said on the sidelines of a state leadership meeting in the afternoon. The responsible fire department described it as “huge”. Around 40 to 50 houses were flooded under the S33 bridge. Fire and water rescue teams have started evacuation operations. Victims are taken to an emergency facility.

In addition, according to Fahrafelner, dams burst in Atzenbrück in the district of Daln, where the situation was initially relaxed, in the area of ​​Langmannersdorf (district of St. Paulden) and in Spielberg (district of Melk). A bridge was also washed away in Böheimkirchen (St. Pölten district). “So our hands are full,” said the state fire marshal.

The situation remains tense

About 10,000 emergency services are still “intensively” involved in rescuing people. People will be rescued from rooftops and freed from homes. Currently support comes from four trains each from Upper Austria and Styria. More helpers are expected from Carinthia and Salzburg on Monday, Fahrafelner said.

“The goal is to restore the natural situation as quickly as possible,” he stresses. However, this is not yet possible everywhere at present, as some places have to wait for water levels to recede again. But there are also areas where you can at least breathe a quick sigh of relief: in some districts in the north, including Mistelbach and Holabrun, the situation has recently eased. But: “You can’t talk about relaxation in general,” says Fahrafelner.