Heavy storms fell over Carinthia on Thursday afternoon. The region around Lake Sankt Andräer in the Lavanttal was particularly hard hit. A number of trees could not withstand the strong gusts of wind well over 100 km/h and were uprooted. Any help came too late for two girls aged three and eight. 15 other people were injured, two seriously. One person is also missing. There were also numerous power outages.
A large number of emergency services are currently on site in St. Andrä, including two rescue helicopters, several fire brigade units, the Red Cross and the police, as well as a crisis intervention team. A person who is said to have been in the water at the time of the storm is also missing. Clothing was found at the lake that could not be assigned to anyone. “It was terrible” “When the thunderstorm came, we were just able to get to safety from the terrace,” an employee of the local lake restaurant described the dramatic moments. “Then children ran to us and told us about fallen trees. Shortly thereafter we heard hysterical screams. It was terrible.” The storm had hit the entire Wolfsberg district: “After the violent storm, the greater Wolfsberg area partly resembled a battlefield,” said Wolfsberg Mayor Hannes Primus (SPÖ) on Facebook. 20,000 households without electricity It also came from the storm Power outages in the entire eastern half of Carinthia – especially in the districts of St. Veit, Wolfsberg, Klagenfurt-Land and Völkermarkt. Up to 20,000 households are without electricity. “We have used all available forces to rectify the disturbances, but that may take longer,” assured Robert Schmaranz from Kärnten Netz to the “Krone”. Roads blocked The storms also led to problems on Carinthia’s roads on Thursday afternoon. Storm gusts knocked down trees and blocked the southern autobahn (A2) towards Italy near Griffen (Völkermarkt district). Traffic was therefore diverted from the autobahn at Wolfsberg Süd and flowed via Packer Straße (B70). The Bad St. Leonhard driveway north of Wolfsberg was also closed due to fallen trees, police and Asfinag said. There were also problems on Thursday afternoon at the Carinthian border with Styria. According to initial information from Asfinag, there was a power failure, which is why the Pack tunnel chain on the A2 was closed in both directions. It is still unclear how long the locks would last. Gusts at 140 km/h in Styria A violent storm also swept through Styria on Thursday afternoon! The state capital Graz was particularly affected. Around 4 p.m. there were 40,000 households without electricity, guest gardens were destroyed, objects were thrown through the air. Heavy damage also occurred to power lines. As a result, train traffic in Styria, Carinthia and East Tyrol had to be discontinued.
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