Dozens of trees fell on power and telephone lines. Roofs were partially covered and underpasses were flooded. Hundreds of firefighters were on duty. The clean-up work lasted into the night.
In Lower Austria, around 900 members of 80 fire brigades were required in the evening. According to Franz Resperger from the regional command, around 140 missions were counted. The districts of St. Pölten, Krems, Korneuburg, Mödling and Baden were hardest hit. Storm squalls and heavy rainfall caused problems.
“Around 4.30 p.m. the sky darkened and within a few minutes a violent storm set in, which reached 90 to 100 km / h in some regions,” said Resperger. “The fire department emergency number rang every minute,” summed up the spokesman. At about 8.30 p.m., “the ghost” was finally over.
After violent thunderstorms on Wednesday night, there was another storm alarm in Upper Austria in the afternoon. 150 fire brigades with around 2300 emergency services deployed to 400 operations in the districts of Braunau, Ried im Innkreis, Vöcklabruck, Wels-Land, Wels Stadt and Grieskirchen.
Again there were regional floods and minor debris flows. Roofs were also damaged by hail, according to the state fire brigade command. People were not harmed. Since Sunday evening, this was the fifth major operation for the fire brigades in Upper Austria.