More than 30 fire brigades and many other helpers from all emergency organizations are still in the process of cleaning up the devastation caused by the storm in the Villach and Villach-Land districts. Unfortunately, while a pensioner (82) from Treffen could only be recovered dead, a second missing person was found alive in the evening.
An eyewitness claims to have seen in meetings how a car that was heading towards the gorge was swept away by a debris flow. The driver even called the fire brigade at four in the morning that he was trapped between the debris flows in Klamm. However, the intensive search remained unsuccessful for hours. However, district captain Bernd Riepan reported on Wednesday evening with the good news: “We are happy that the man was found alive in Verditz. The circumstances are still unclear.” Pensioner carried away 300 meters by Mure There is sad certainty about the whereabouts of an 82-year-old pensioner. His body was found near his home after an intensive search. According to the police, the person who met was caught by the rubble in front of his house and was carried away about 300 meters. He suffered fatal injuries.Popular Pilsachhof floodedThe animal paradise Pilsachhof in Arriach also fell victim to the water and mud masses. The Pilsachhof was home to countless rescued animals. Cats, dogs, rabbits, donkeys, ponies…Two ponies, two donkeys, two horses, one sheep, two rabbits, eight cats and all the chickens that lived there did not survive.Fallen trees, flooded pathsHave been hit particularly hard in Carinthia the districts of Villach and Villach-Land. “Some communities in the area are no longer accessible by road!” reports the LAWZ. Landslides, floods and hail make roads and paths impassable and trees have fallen down. Now the army has to move out to help people who are locked up in those communities. “People are being asked not to leave their houses and, if possible, to stay on the first floor.” The danger from mudslides and torrential streams is too great. “People sit in their houses without electricity or water and are completely isolated from the outside world cut off, waiting for help. From the roundabout meeting the area is closed. Above, the helicopter circles over the valley. Cars were washed away, the small bridge in the wasteland was torn away, as was the Affritz electric power plant. Mudslides and heavy rainfall caused the Affritzerbach to burst its banks, something like that last happened in July 1946, my father often talked about it,” reports Heinz Rauter, a resident of Treffen because this community is also cut off from the environment. Mayor Gerald Ebner from Arriach: “Disaster, all streams burst their banks, all roads were torn away. Arriach is cut off from the outside world and unreachable. The civil defense alarm was triggered.” It is hoped that it will be possible to drive via Feldkirchen and the Teuchen in the medium term, but it is still not clear when. In the Hundsdorf district of Arriach, around 150 people have no drinking water supply because the mains network was severely damaged. Almost the entire municipal area is said to be without power supply, the telephone network is also severely restricted!Van der Bellen reports via TwitterIn view of the destruction, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen also spoke via Twitter. He appealed to the population “Take care of yourself & your fellow human beings” and thanked the emergency organizations. Governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) broke off a trip to Brussels “to help the people as best I can”. Kaiser said in a video message that he would join the emergency services late in the evening. The Leißnitzbach is flooded, the population was asked to stay in their houses, not to enter underground car parks and cellars and to keep away from the banks and bridges.
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