After the water masses from the Kothbach flooded the city of Hallein on Saturday evening, the emergency services and residents were busy cleaning up on Sunday morning. The Kothbach retreated into the stream, but it left mud and devastation in the streets of the Celtic city. In the narrow streets, the water was sometimes meters high.
Firefighters and volunteers shoveled mud, branches and debris from the entrances to the houses in the affected streets. There were thick branches and car parts in front of a bar. Driftwood and mud were also removed with excavators and road sweepers. Tree trunks and rhizomes that had been swept away by the water had bent the railings of the bridge or even tore them out of their anchoring. “We are clearing the traffic routes, pumping out the basement and we are busy with the clean-up work in Hallein and Bad Dürrnberg,” said the Hallein fire brigade commander and operations manager Josef Tschematschar.
Local residents are sometimes skeptical about whether the floods will come back
One woman had tears in her eyes, others took it with optimism: “What good does it do? First clean up, ”said one resident. Sandbags have already been stacked again at many houses and the entrances have been blocked off with wood. A man who was just stacking sacks of potting soil in front of the front door of a house said: “Who knows if there will be another flood.” The rain in Tennengau continued on Sunday morning as well.
Operations manager Tschematschar, like all Hallein residents, hoped for an end to the precipitation, but at least calmed down somewhat: “If there are no further blockages, the Kothbach should not overflow again.” Blockages were also the reason why the otherwise small one Bach had turned into a raging river that washed water through the old town.
No injuries or missing persons reported
Despite the torrential masses of water that had flowed through houses, everyone could be brought to safety. There are currently no reports of injured or missing persons. But the situation remained tense on Sunday. A settlement in the Gamp district had to be evacuated because a retaining wall threatened to collapse.
City chief warns onlookers to withdraw
The mayor of Hallein, Alexander Stangassinger (SPÖ), called on people on Sunday morning not to hinder the clean-up work: “It is important that onlookers withdraw from the disaster area – the emergency services are working at full speed and should not be unnecessarily disturbed. “At the same time, the enormous willingness to help was already evident in the morning. Neighbors came to help shovel the mud out of the houses. In a Facebook group that was opened especially for the floods in Hallein, people contacted us with offers of help.