From floods to tornadoes - a weekend of devastation in Austria

This weekend, Austria was hit hard by a severe storm, flooding a large village near Graz on Saturday. The worst of it hit the people living in Deutschfeistritz.

Within minutes, the water rose quickly, overflowing the narrow stream bed in Deutschfeistritz and flooding the city center. Cars were swept away, getting stuck between houses. Many people had to be rescued. The district authorities declared a state of disaster. A friend of mine lives in Deutschfeistritz and called me that evening. She couldn’t reach her apartment, and firefighters had to bring her home by boat. Luckily, her apartment is a bit higher up, so it wasn’t flooded.

Cars trapped in the narrow streets were washed away with people still inside. She told me people were screaming for help, but rescuers had a hard time reaching them. They finally managed to lower a ladder from a nearby building to help people climb out of their cars. The scenes were truly terrifying.

In Graz, the Andritz and Mariatrost districts were badly affected, especially around the streams. A civil defense alert was raised, and sirens blared everywhere. All day Saturday, alarms were sounding, and at first, I had no idea what was going on. Then I got the first pictures and videos from another friend who lives nearby. I couldn’t believe it. It’s only 10 minutes away from me. A debris avalanche even triggered near the highway and I began to realize that I also live on the hill and an avalanche can trigger here too. Two years ago a severe storm caused trees to fall onto our roof and almost hit the balcony. Part of our roof was destroyed. The scariest thing is that summer has only just begun, but we are already witnessing such disasters. What will the rest of the summer bring?

On the other side of the city where I live, the Mura River flows. Yesterday, I went for a walk to see how high the river had risen. I haven’t seen it like this in a long time. If the rain continues, the river might flood my town too.

On Saturday, my husband and I talked about going to watch the storm cell approaching Graz. Since I wasn’t feeling well, we decided to stay home. It’s a good thing we did because we would have been stuck on the freeway in the middle of the storm and heavy hail. Some parts of the highways are still closed because they haven’t been cleared yet.

Look at the video:

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/oesterreich-unwetter-104.html

Parts of Burgenland, near the Hungarian border, were also flooded. The most worrying part now is that tornadoes are starting to appear. Last week, a tornado hit the middle of Graz, and another one appeared on Saturday. We’re not used to having tornadoes here, especially not in the city. With the rain still pouring down, we can only wonder what the next few days will bring.

https://www.heute.at/s/tornado-touchdown-in-oesterreich-video-zeigt-alles-120041452

The pictures and videos tell the story better than words.

It’s heartbreaking that last year severe floods devastated Slovenia and nearby villages, and now there are floods again where I live. We can only wait and see what other disasters this summer will bring.

Good luck to everyone trying to save their homes, and thank you to all the volunteers helping those in need. We often don’t realize how much firefighters do for us, free of charge. Compassion for others still exists, and we should be grateful to be surrounded by such amazing people.

(Some of the pictures I got from my colleagues, who gave me permission to publish them.)

“While natural disasters capture headlines and national attention short-term, the work of recovery and rebuilding is long-term.” Sylvia Mathews Burwell

With love, @tinabrezpike ❤️