Record Rainfalls Caused Flood Disaster in Austria
Over the past few days, Austria has experienced extreme rainfall that has broken numerous rainfall records and led to widespread flooding. The federal states of Lower Austria, Upper Austria, and Vienna were particularly affected, with many weather stations recording several hundred millimeters of rain in just a few days.
Although the rainfall has now subsided, the clean-up work is continuing and the levels of many rivers are only falling slowly. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / C.Stadler/Bwag / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
According to GeoSphere Austria, around half of the 280 weather stations measured over 100 millimeters of rain, with twelve stations even recording up to 400 millimeters. In Lilienfeld/Tarschberg in Lower Austria, for example, 418 millimeters of rain fell, significantly exceeding the previous record of 273 millimeters from 1997. In St. Pölten, 409 millimeters were recorded, almost twice as much as the previous record of 207 millimeters in July 2009.
Flood protection measures and evacuations
Thanks to precise weather forecasts, flood protection measures could be taken in good time in many regions. In Lower Austria, mobile dams were erected and river dam systems, such as on the Kamp, were lowered as a precaution. Nevertheless, many villages in the districts of Horn, Krems, and Tulln had to be evacuated as the water levels of the rivers continued to rise. Flood protection measures were also deployed in Vienna, particularly along the Wien River, to prevent worse.
Viennese crisis units in constant deployment
Vienna also experienced heavy rainfall and flooding, which broke numerous records. The areas along the Vienna River, the Danube Canal, and the New Danube were particularly affected, where the water masses sometimes overflowed their banks. However, thanks to the City of Vienna's comprehensive flood protection system, including the Danube Island and the New Danube as relief waters, a major catastrophe was prevented.
The Danube Island, a central component of the flood protection system, once again proved its worth. The system is designed to drain up to 14,000 cubic meters of water per second, which corresponds to the capacity of a 100-year flood. The weir systems on the New Danube were also activated in good time to relieve the Danube and prevent flooding in the city.
Despite these measures, the emergency services in Vienna were still very busy. The Vienna Fire Brigade recorded over 3,000 call-outs to deal with water ingress, fallen trees, and wind damage. In addition, numerous parks such as the Lainzer Tiergarten and the Danube Tower had to be closed for safety reasons.
The Vienna City Administration has warned the population to avoid unnecessary journeys and to inform themselves about current road closures and restrictions on public transport. Traffic along the Vienna River was particularly affected, where parts of the U4 subway line were affected by the water.
Effects of climate change
Experts attribute the exceptionally heavy rainfall to the effects of climate change. An analysis by ClimaMeter, a European Union research project, suggests that such heavy rainfall events are now around 20 percent more intense than they were a few decades ago due to global warming. The high levels of rainfall not only led to flooding but also to massive damage to infrastructure and disruption to public life.