Austria has been hit hard by heavy storms, causing widespread damage and severe flooding across the country, with the capital city of Vienna particularly affected. The torrential rain has left parts of Vienna submerged and has wreaked havoc in other regions as well.
In the western part of the country, the popular ski resort of St. Anton experienced fast-moving torrents of muddy water that swept cars away, adding to the devastation. In Vienna’s Dobling district, the situation turned tragic when a woman was dragged under a bus by the force of the flooding. She was critically injured and rushed to the hospital, where she remains in serious condition.
The scale of the destruction is immense. On Saturday alone, Vienna’s fire services responded to over 450 emergency calls due to the heavy rainfall. The relentless storms dumped an unprecedented amount of water on the city, with Dobling recording 110 liters of rain per square meter. According to Kevin Hebenstreit, a meteorologist with ORF Vienna, this is a record for August rainfall in the city.
Weather data firm UBIMET reported that a large portion of Vienna’s average summer rainfall fell within just one hour on Saturday, highlighting the intensity of the storm. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer addressed the nation, acknowledging the severity of the situation. “Heavy storms have done great damage in many parts of Austria,” he said, as efforts continue to manage the aftermath.
Austria is not alone in facing extreme weather conditions this summer. Across Europe, wildfires have been raging, with Turkey and Greece among the hardest hit. In Turkey, strong winds and high temperatures have fueled fires that have spread rapidly across the country. Thousands of firefighters have been battling to bring the blazes under control, while residents in affected areas have been forced to evacuate. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported in Turkey so far.
Greece, however, has not been as fortunate. The wildfires there have devastated an area nearly twice the size of Manhattan. The fires, which have swept through mountainous regions near Athens, claimed the life of a factory worker and have forced thousands of people to flee their homes. The tinderbox conditions in Southern Europe, caused by successive heatwaves and low rainfall this year, have made the region particularly vulnerable to such disasters.
Abdullah Ozata, a Turkish livestock farmer who survived the fires, described the heart-wrenching transformation of his once-beautiful surroundings. “It was beautiful, but now it has turned into hell,” he said. “A place like paradise turned into hell. You can see it all around.”
As Europe continues to grapple with the effects of climate change, these extreme weather events serve as a stark reminder of the growing challenges faced by countries across the continent. The damage in Austria is just the latest example of the devastating impact that such conditions can have on communities and infrastructure.