The flood situation in Slovenia is particularly catastrophic. For this reason, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner has decided to send two helicopters from the Austrian Armed Forces to support Slovenia in addition to the crisis management activities of the Austrian Armed Forces in Styria and Carinthia.
From Wednesday, they will be able to rescue people from rooftops or fly food to isolated villages in close coordination with the crisis coordination team of the Slovenian armed forces. The operational base of the S-70 Black Hawk helicopter and the AB-212 transport helicopter for aid in Slovenia is the helicopter base in Klagenfurt. The air and ground relief operations in Austria continue – and in some cases have even been stepped up.
“The situation in Austria is still dramatic, 200 soldiers are still fighting against the consequences of the floods and storms in Carinthia and Styria. Unfortunately, our neighbor Slovenia has been hit even harder. After intensive examination, Austria can now provide two helicopters from the Austrian Armed Forces to help with search and rescue operations,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner. She also assured that the aid and rescue operations in Austria would continue smoothly and that further reserves would be available domestically if required. “The current situation shows us that the flood levels are slowly receding and that our needs are currently fully covered. The Austrian Armed Forces are working side by side with the emergency services at full speed.”
Armed Forces deployments continue in Carinthia and Styria
In Styria, the forces for the clean-up operations have been doubled. Today, 70 soldiers from the barracks in Strass are helping to clear rubble, debris and mud from the community of Heimschuh, which was particularly affected by the floods.
There are 130 soldiers deployed in Carinthia. Today, an S-70 Black Hawk helicopter from the Austrian Armed Forces is once again flying electricity pylons into remote villages for Kärntner Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft (Kelag). The aim is to restore the power supply in cut-off villages. An AB-212 helicopter flies reconnaissance flights for Carinthian crisis teams.
In Neuhaus, the floods of the past few days destroyed a Drau bridge. Pioneers from the Carinthian army erect a temporary Mabey & Johnson bridge so that several isolated farmsteads on the Motschulaberg can be reached again. Pioneers also set up a 50-ton ferry in the Glainach area. The people of the cut-off village of Unterguntschach can then be reached again by the army ferry. Soldiers also clear mudslides and blockages in the Waidisch area, in the Vellachtal valley, in Unterbergen, Kohldorf, Globasnitz and Neuhaus.
