Salzburg/Tyrol/district – In Tyrol and Salzburg, severe storms on Friday (August 5) led to numerous mudslides. In Oberpinzgau, more than 200 people were cut off from the outside world. There was even a tornado in Baden-Württemberg.

Update, 2:47 p.m. – Ten people rescued from the Salzburg valley by helicopter

After the mudslides in the Oberpinzgau side valleys south of the Salzach caused by heavy rain on Friday, the blocked paths and roads have now been cleared of mud and debris, that you can walk out of the valleys. So far, no one is missing or injured.

“A few bridges and a few unused stables and hunting lodges have been damaged, as far as can be judged from the air,” says Manfred Pongruber, famous civil protection officer for the Zell am See district authority. When using the helicopter a total of ten people cut off from the environment at the Neue Fürther Hütte in the Hollersbachtal.

So far, 164 firefighters from seven communities have been deployed, trying to make the streets passable again during the night hours. “By the end of next week, the Ober- and Sulzbachtal as well as the Habachtal should be passable again with all vehicles,” says Pongruber. It will take a little longer in the Hollersbach valley, which is hardest hit by the mudslides.

Update, 9:40 a.m. – Police confirm tornado

A tornado in the Eintürnen area (Bad Wurzach) caused damage probably in the seven-figure range: a warehouse was destroyed the entire roof was blown away and only came to rest in a corn field 300 meters away. The rest of the warehouse was completely destroyed and, according to the assessment of a structural engineer, is partially in danger of collapsing. “The object will be checked tomorrow in daylight”, it said in a statement from the responsible police headquarters in Ravensburg.

A town further on, the tornado tore off the tin roof of a machine hall, which according to the owner is otherwise stable. A tree also landed on the rear of a Ford Kugas in the area affected by the tornado. Damage was estimated at 5000 euros, including damage to the tailgate and denting of the rear window. A VW got off a bit lighter with damage estimated at 1000 euros: It was damaged by a branch at the front.

Update, 8.20 a.m. – Tornado rages in Baden-Württemberg

While things remained calm in the region when it came to storms, things looked very different in parts of Baden-Württemberg. In Bad Wurzach in Upper Swabia, near the border with Bavaria, the roof of a material hall was swept away during a storm become. It is now 300 meters from the destroyed building, according to the Ravensburg police. The detective languages ​​of a tornado. It was initially unclear whether this was actually the case. The confirmation followed on Saturday morning, because it was also on the website tornadoliste.de the incident has since been introduced.

Luckily there were no injuries. After an initial estimate However, the damage amounts to around one million eurosHowever, the actual extent is still unclear, since a structural engineer had to examine the building first, it said. From the Eintürnen district, officials were also reported to have had a tin roof of a machine hall that had been blown off, as the police added in the evening.

The first message:

Already on Friday afternoon (5 August) are violent storm fell over Tyrol. The heavy rain caused streams to swell so much that it closed numerous mudslides came. in the St. Sigmund im Sellrain the creek swelled through the Brander valley to such an extent that just 40 minutes after the thunderstorm swept over the community, Mure with a length of around 100 meters around the “Brandner Höfe” area 60 cm high spilled. There were roadblocks, but luckily no one was injured. The fire brigade’s clean-up work continued until early Saturday morning. In the municipality of Ranggen, the overflowing Rettenbach caused a mudslide. Fortunately, there was no damage to property or personal injury.

Mure in Gerlos, Tyrol, buried numerous houses

In Gerlos comes in Severe storm with hail and heavy rain low. In particular, the streams directly in the town center and in the district of Oberhof-Isskogelbahn burst their banks and Murmured parts of the B165 and numerous houses. Basements and first floors were flooded. The B165 had to be completely closed to traffic. Numerous fire brigades in the area were deployed. The clean-up work continued throughout Friday, and the road was reopened in the afternoon. It is not yet possible to estimate the damage to the houses that were covered in mud.

Mudslides in Salzburg: 230 people cut off from the outside world

Also the Salzburg Pinzgau Traffic die severe weather. To heavy local precipitation some mudflows have gone down in the valleys and have moved paths and driveways. “No buildings are affected, and no missing persons have been reported,” reports Manfred Pongruber, famous civil protection officer for the Zell am See district authority. Fire brigade, mountain rescue, police, Red Cross and local companies are working together.

In the Upper Pinzgau, there were mudslides interrupt the way to around 230 people at mountain huts and inns. The Obersulzbach, Untersulzbach, Habach and Hollersbach valleys are affected. The emergency services are still working on Friday night to clear all the streets again.

In Obersulzbachtal are around 130 people in three huts cut off from the environment. “However, the emergency services have already been able to restore the connections to the rear valley section,” says Manfred Pongruber from the Pinzgau district authority. Those affected should be able to get back onto the road on Saturday.

In the Untersulzbachtal there are five people. Here, too, the authorities expect that they will be able to leave the valley again on Saturday. During the night on Saturday, the fire brigade was also busy clearing the way to the rear Habach valley. Here are 60 people in two inns affected. And in the Hollersbachtal around 30 people are locked in several alpine huts. Five fire brigades with a total of 118 emergency services were busy on Friday with clean-up work in Oberpinzgau. Depending on the weather, a reconnaissance flight is planned for Saturday to determine the exact extent of the damage.

ce/Province of Salzburg/Provincial Police of Tyrol