“We must prepare for extreme scenarios,” warn authorities in Austria

In Austria, it is mainly the east of the country that is badly affected. But concern has spread to the capital, Vienna, in recent hours.

Torrential rains, spectacular and deadly floods, evacuations by the thousands… Storm Boris is wreaking havoc in Central and Eastern Europe, causing damage in particular in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Romania. The toll continues to rise, with at least seven dead and many missing at midday on Sunday, September 15.

In Austria, the east of the country is badly affected, particularly the region of Lower Austria. This state, the most populous in the country with 1.72 million inhabitants, was declared a disaster area on Sunday morning due to massive flooding. In the state capital Sankt Pölten, the last four days of rain have already made this September the wettest since 1894.

Last night, more than 5,000 interventions were carried out in the region, several evacuations took place. A firefighter died during an operation. The regional authorities have requested the assistance of the federal army to deal with the situation.The next few hours and days will remain extremely difficult.announced Stefan Pernkopf, Vice Governor of Lower Austria. We must prepare for extreme scenarios. We are still expecting massive rains in the coming hours, up to 60 liters.”

“It’s dramatic, because the ground is already saturated, it can no longer absorb anything after the large amounts of rain. That’s why we have asked the Austrian army for an assistance mission.”

Stefan Pernkopf, Vice Governor of Lower Austria

The national railway company ÖBB has announced a suspension of traffic between Amstetten and St. Valentin in Lower Austria. A replacement bus service is now in place on this section, the busiest in the country, but the ÖBB is calling for all non-urgent journeys to be postponed.

In Vienna, wind gusts reached 100 km/h. Two metro lines were also closed. The network is threatened by the Wien River and the Danube Canal crossing the Austrian capital.
Sand dams have been erected inside the tunnels. Around 1,100 operations have been carried out in the last few hours in the capital.