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Today in Austria For Members

Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Emma Midgley
Emma Midgley - [email protected]
Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Stay cool today, it's going to get warm. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Floods and mudslides, changes to red-white-red (Rot-Weiß-Rot) employment card, bike theft falls and more news from Austria on Wednesday.

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Flooding in Carinthia overnight

There have been bad floods in central Carinthia - especially around Feldkirchen and the districts of Villach and Villach-Land area, following storms during the night. Mudflows have damaged houses and interrupted power to houses in the Treffen am Ossiach community.

The villages of Winklern, Afritz, Äußere Einöde, Klamm and Töbring have been particularly affected by flooding. People have been instructed to go to safety on the first floor of their homes and wait for the situation to calm down. In Arriach people have been told to stay indoors after as much rain fell in one night as normally falls over the course of a month, leading to torrential streams. The area is currently cut off and cannot be reached by the emergency services, broadcaster ORF reports. 

Heavy thunderstorms also swept over Upper Austria yesterday evening and during the night. The Hausruckviertel was particularly affected, but fire brigades also came out in Linz and in the districts of Linz-Land, Schärding and in the Mühlviertel.

Parliament votes to make it easier to get red-white-red employment card

It’s going to be easier to get a red-white-red (Rot-Weiß-Rot) card to allow qualified workers from third countries to find work, the Wiener Zeitung newspaper reports. In future, recipients of the RWR card can qualify with a minimum gross salary of 50 percent of the ASVG maximum contributions, (EUR 2,835 gross per month). There is no longer a minimum wage requirement for graduates from local universities and technical colleges, though the salary must correspond to the local salary of domestic graduates with comparable work and professional experience. Knowledge of English is equated with knowledge of German if the language in the company is English. The recognition of professional experience is to be made easier, language certificates and other evidence will  remain valid for longer. There will be easier applications for family members. In addition, regular seasonal workers are to be given permanent access to the labor market in the future and the approval process is to be accelerated.

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READ MORE: Jobs in Austria: What types of jobs are in demand and where?

Doctor closes surgery due to death threats

A general practitioner in Upper Austria is temporarily closing her surgery after receiving online death threats from the anti-vaccination movement for more than seven months. Despite police protection and spending around 100,000 euros on security measures, she said it was no longer possible to continue operating her surgery safely. Her website explains that the security measures are costing more than profit from her practice.

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Bike thefts fall in Austria, but are still common in Vienna

The number of bicycle thefts in Austria fell for the seventh time in a row last year. According to the Verkehrsclub Österreich, 17,595 reported bicycle thefts were the lowest in the 21st century. Two thirds of bicycle thefts happened in the provincial capitals, with most happening in Vienna. The most bike thefts were in Leopoldstadt (750), Donaustadt (711) and then Favoriten (531). The lowest number of thefts were in Hietzing. Here "only" 98 bikes were stolen in 2021, the Krone newspaper reports.

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