Snow kept emergency services alert in Carinthia and Tyrol – Austria –

While electricity problems still predominate in the Villgraten and Lesach valleys in eastern Tyrol, these were largely resolved in Ötztal on Sunday evening. “We can’t give the go ahead yet,” Tinetz said. 150 Ötztal households were still without power. Trees bent in lines are often responsible for this.

In the afternoon, the Brenner route in Austria was reopened for local train traffic to the Brenner, on the south side of Tyrol, however the closure of the route will continue until Tuesday. A replacement rail service was established between Bolzano and Innsbruck, but long-distance trains rotate in Innsbruck. Furthermore, the Drautal route from Lienz to Innichen could not be served. As long as the weather permits, there will be a replacement rail service, he said from the ÖBB. However, it is advisable to know the current situation before embarking on the trip.

The Brennero motorway reopened to traffic in the early hours of the morning. The Brennerstrasse (B182), on the other hand, had to be closed due to landslides between Gasthof Stefansbrücke and the Schönberg junction in order to carry out extensive renovation measures until likely Christmas, the state said. The section between Schönberg and Matreiwald will be open to traffic from 5:00 p.m.

Meanwhile, on Monday four helicopters were on reconnaissance flights over East Tyrol for avalanche commissions, community operations management, state geology and the Tinetz. In North Tyrol, an army helicopter carried out reconnaissance flights for the avalanche commissions and the avalanche warning service. “The state helicopter is used to transport dialysis patients to the Lienz district hospital, scouting flights for avalanche commissions and aerial studies for the Tinetz. Two private helicopters are also used for avalanche commissions and the Tinetz. It is still moving a army helicopter from Klagenfurt to Lienz, “explained Lienz district chief Olga Reisner. Governor Günther Platter (ÖVP) had flown to East Tyrol on Monday to get an idea of ​​the situation.

In East Tyrol, avalanche alert level “4” was declared on Monday, signifying great danger. On Sunday, the highest avalanche warning level “5” was still in effect. On steep slopes of grass, avalanches of wet and slippery snow were to be expected at all times, in isolated cases also very large, according to the avalanche report. The same applies to North Tyrol, where avalanche alert level “3” was widely issued. In Hopfgarten in Defereggental, an avalanche severely damaged three houses on Sunday, with snow and mud seeping into the basement. No one was hurt.

On Monday, after the snowy weekend, the weather calmed down a bit, but this will only be short-lived. “On Tuesday and Wednesday, the next low in Italy in Upper Carinthia and East Tyrol will again bring widespread snowfall to the valleys. This will add another 50 centimeters of fresh snow, and in some cases around 100, for example in the Valley of Lesach, “said Gerhard Hohenwarter. from ZAMG Klagenfurt. As of Thursday, it seems that the weather will calm down in the long term. “Towards the weekend another low pressure zone is likely to develop over Italy, but according to the current forecast, it is too far south to affect Austria.”

The Tyrolean state government promised financial support to those affected by Monday’s heavy snowfall. The disaster fund should be able to be used in the event of private damage caused by natural forces, and the same applies to companies. Aid equal to 50 percent of the estimated damages will be awarded.

“In order to provide the population with the fastest possible support, today we decided to rapidly implement the necessary repair and construction measures to deal with the damage caused by the precipitation event. In addition, financial resources are available from the fund disaster state, “said the governor and financial adviser. Günther Platter (ÖVP) after a local inspection in East Tyrol.

The funds from the Disaster Fund will be used primarily for extraordinary damages caused by floods, landslides, landslides, avalanches and earthquakes. LHStv. Ingrid Felipe (Verdes) thanked all the volunteers who would now help to deal with the situation. “That is not a routine matter,” he said.

Heavy snowfall also kept emergency services and the Carinthian authorities alert over the weekend. Since Sunday alone, the state’s fire departments have been on more than 300 missions. Some mountain roads were still closed on Monday, 2,500 homes had to do without electricity at times. In the Mölltal (district of Spittal an der Drau) several houses were evacuated, where avalanches and landslides and floods occurred repeatedly.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the next low in Italy in Upper Carinthia and East Tyrol should bring snow and rain again, which is why the state crisis team met on Monday. In the Lesach Valley, which was still isolated from the outside world, communication for emergencies was established in cooperation with the Hermagor district administration via the analog radio of the fire service and the police.

The avalanche commission carried out reconnaissance flights: the armed forces deployed an Alouette III from the Klagenfurt helicopter base and a Black Hawk helicopter was approaching Carinthia at noon. In addition, two helicopters from the Ministry of the Interior were ready. 100 army soldiers, the pioneers from Villach and the Jäger 26th Battalion from Spittal an der Drau, were on standby. Twelve members of the 26th Jägerbataillon supported the Winklern road maintenance depot in Mölltal.

420 employees of state highway maintenance depots were operating on a large scale over the weekend. Employees and equipment were dispatched from the Lower Carinthia area to Upper Carinthia. The KNG-Kärnten Netz installers also had a lot to do. Especially in Mölltal and Lesach Valley, it was necessary to correct the faults. This was made more difficult by the avalanche hazard that prevailed in many places.