The heat wave ended with thunder and lightning: Friday evening there was a doomsday mood in Graz, hail-battered cars, streets were immediately flooded, record winds of more than 100 km / h were measured. Even fire brigades from the Graz area had to move to the state capital.
The emergency telephone of the Graz professional fire brigade rang every minute, and shocked callers reported damage almost everywhere in the city. A massive storm front hit the state capital on Friday evening – record wind speeds of more than 100 km / h were measured at the university’s measuring station – and left a trail of devastation in some districts.
The professional fire brigade went on 100 missions
Grabenstrasse and Andritzer Reichsstrasse were flooded in no time, poster stands toppled onto parked cars, parts of scaffolding fell from building facades, roofs were covered and a gable wall of a house collapsed. The Florianis were called to 100 missions: “It was an exceptional situation. All available forces were deployed. In order to be able to process all damage reports, we received support from comrades from the Graz area, ”says a spokesman for the Graz professional fire brigade.
“It was like the end of the world,” reports Traude Steiner from Graz to “Krone”. “Although the car was in the carport, it now has a hundred dents,” says a resident of Graz’s Kalvarienbergstrasse, shaking his head.
Storms also caused damage in the Graz area: In the Gratwein-Straßengel area, the Florianis moved out 50 times.