UPDATE: One dead in Austrian landslides
One person has died after landslides caused by heavy rains waged widespread damage in southern Austria on Wednesday.
Record rain falls overnight Tuesday to Wednesday sparked the landslides, sending mud and debris into populated regions. Several streams also burst their banks in the mountainous Villach-Land district in Carinthia state, which borders Italy and Slovenia.
President Alexander Van der Bellen called the destruction in Carinthia "dramatic", appealing to people to take care of themselves and others.
An 82-year-old man was found dead after he was swept into the floods by a landslide, district head Bernd Riepan said.
Another person reported missing while travelling in a car managed to get himself to safety, he added.
One community with some 1,200 inhabitants remained cut off, Riepan told AFP. No one there was reported injured. Riepan said many houses had been partially buried in the district, though the exact number was not yet known.
Photos showed debris-strewn streets and houses partially submerged in water and mud in Villach-Land.
A flooding alert at another community in adjacent Salzburg state imposed earlier on Wednesday was lifted as the situation improved, according to the Austrian news agency APA.
Schlimme Bilder aus #Arriach in #Kärnten, welches heute Nacht von mehreren Unwetterzellen getroffen wurde. Der Ort ist derzeit lt. ORF von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten und nicht durch die Einsatzkräfte erreichbar
©️ Mario Kornberger @Kachelmannwettr @manu_bx @alpen_wetter pic.twitter.com/iLrZ7b2a3N
— Unwetter-Freaks (@unwetterfreaks) June 29, 2022
"One person has been found dead unfortunately... outside the home," a police spokeswoman, who declined to be named, told AFP.
In some areas of the region, there has never been such a large amount of rain in such a short time since the start of measurements, according to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG).
Riepan said "many" houses had been partially buried, though the exact number was not yet known. Photos showed debris-strewn streets and houses partially submerged in water and mud in Villach-Land.
READ MORE: Wild weather in Austria: How to protect yourself during summer storms
Schlimme Bilder aus #Arriach in #Kärnten, welches heute Nacht von mehreren Unwetterzellen getroffen wurde. Der Ort ist derzeit lt. ORF von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten und nicht durch die Einsatzkräfte erreichbar
©️ Mario Kornberger @Kachelmannwettr @manu_bx @alpen_wetter pic.twitter.com/iLrZ7b2a3N
— Unwetter-Freaks (@unwetterfreaks) June 29, 2022
ZAMG said it rained as much in just a few hours as it does for the entire month of an average June.
Austria is currently experiencing a heatwave and authorities have warned of thunderstorms.
Treffen in Kärnten "komplett überflutet und vermurt": https://t.co/6BTijpec5G
— DER STANDARD (@derStandardat) June 29, 2022
Experts say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves and other extreme weather events.
Derzeit ist mit einer #Gewitter-linie vom Innviertel bis ins Mostviertel mit #Starkregen und #Sturmböen zu rechnen, am Nachmittag sorgte diese Linie in #Kärnten für schwere Sturmböen und vereinzelte Orkanböen. Das folgende Video zeigt den #Downburst in Villach (© Daniela Tissal) pic.twitter.com/Law8xq3y0d
— uwz.at (@uwz_at) June 28, 2022
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Record rain falls overnight Tuesday to Wednesday sparked the landslides, sending mud and debris into populated regions. Several streams also burst their banks in the mountainous Villach-Land district in Carinthia state, which borders Italy and Slovenia.
President Alexander Van der Bellen called the destruction in Carinthia "dramatic", appealing to people to take care of themselves and others.
An 82-year-old man was found dead after he was swept into the floods by a landslide, district head Bernd Riepan said.
Another person reported missing while travelling in a car managed to get himself to safety, he added.
One community with some 1,200 inhabitants remained cut off, Riepan told AFP. No one there was reported injured. Riepan said many houses had been partially buried in the district, though the exact number was not yet known.
Photos showed debris-strewn streets and houses partially submerged in water and mud in Villach-Land.
A flooding alert at another community in adjacent Salzburg state imposed earlier on Wednesday was lifted as the situation improved, according to the Austrian news agency APA.
Schlimme Bilder aus #Arriach in #Kärnten, welches heute Nacht von mehreren Unwetterzellen getroffen wurde. Der Ort ist derzeit lt. ORF von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten und nicht durch die Einsatzkräfte erreichbar
— Unwetter-Freaks (@unwetterfreaks) June 29, 2022
©️ Mario Kornberger @Kachelmannwettr @manu_bx @alpen_wetter pic.twitter.com/iLrZ7b2a3N
"One person has been found dead unfortunately... outside the home," a police spokeswoman, who declined to be named, told AFP.
In some areas of the region, there has never been such a large amount of rain in such a short time since the start of measurements, according to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG).
Riepan said "many" houses had been partially buried, though the exact number was not yet known. Photos showed debris-strewn streets and houses partially submerged in water and mud in Villach-Land.
READ MORE: Wild weather in Austria: How to protect yourself during summer storms
Schlimme Bilder aus #Arriach in #Kärnten, welches heute Nacht von mehreren Unwetterzellen getroffen wurde. Der Ort ist derzeit lt. ORF von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten und nicht durch die Einsatzkräfte erreichbar
— Unwetter-Freaks (@unwetterfreaks) June 29, 2022
©️ Mario Kornberger @Kachelmannwettr @manu_bx @alpen_wetter pic.twitter.com/iLrZ7b2a3N
ZAMG said it rained as much in just a few hours as it does for the entire month of an average June.
Austria is currently experiencing a heatwave and authorities have warned of thunderstorms.
Treffen in Kärnten "komplett überflutet und vermurt": https://t.co/6BTijpec5G
— DER STANDARD (@derStandardat) June 29, 2022
Experts say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves and other extreme weather events.
Derzeit ist mit einer #Gewitter-linie vom Innviertel bis ins Mostviertel mit #Starkregen und #Sturmböen zu rechnen, am Nachmittag sorgte diese Linie in #Kärnten für schwere Sturmböen und vereinzelte Orkanböen. Das folgende Video zeigt den #Downburst in Villach (© Daniela Tissal) pic.twitter.com/Law8xq3y0d
— uwz.at (@uwz_at) June 28, 2022
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