As a result of heavy rainfall, up to 400 soldiers have been stationed in Carinthia since last Friday. in CarinthiaStyria and Burgenland since last Friday. assistance mission. In the meantime, the disaster situation in Burgenland has eased and stabilized somewhat in Styria and Carinthia. As a result, 139 members of the Austrian Armed Forces have ended their relief mission in Burgenland. In Styria, 30 soldiers are still helping with clean-up operations and in Carinthia pioneers are building a temporary bridge and a 50-ton ferry. Two helicopters fly into cut-off villages. Other units are on standby.
“In these difficult days, our soldiers are standing by the population! They are helping to clear blockages, remove mudslides, stack sandbags and assist with clean-up operations. The Austrian Armed Forces are now also deploying heavy engineering equipment to make cut-off villages accessible. I can assure you of one thing in any case: The Austrian Armed Forces and its soldiers will continue to support all affected countries with their forces – day and night,” says Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.
Carinthia: Helicopter, bridge construction and ferry
The Carinthian assistant soldiers are once again deployed today with around 130 soldiers. Since yesterday afternoon, an S-70 Black Hawk helicopter of the Austrian Armed Forces has been flying generators and electricity pylons to remote villages for the Carinthian electricity company (Kelag). The aim is to restore the power supply in isolated villages.
In Neuhaus, the floods of the past few days destroyed a Drau bridge. Pioneers from the Carinthian army are starting to build a temporary “Mabey & Johnson” bridge today so that several isolated farmsteads on the Motschulaberg can be reached again.
Austrian Armed Forces pioneers erect a 50-ton ferry in the Glainach area so that the Carinthian torrent and avalanche control authorities can first clear a landslide in the Unterguntschach area. Subsequently, the supply of the cut-off village of Unterguntschach is ensured by the army ferry.
Styria: Clean-up operations
Up to 120 soldiers have been deployed in south-eastern Styria since Friday evening. Currently, 30 soldiers from the Strasser barracks are helping in the municipality of Heimschuh, which was particularly badly affected by the floods. They are helping the people affected to remove rubble, debris and mud.
Burgenland: Disaster relief completed, Austrian Armed Forces still ready0
Since last Friday, up to 139 soldiers from the Güssing barracks have been on assistance duty in Burgenland, particularly in the Güssing area. They helped the local fire departments in Güssing and along the Strem river into the night hours to erect flood barriers and fill more than 5,000 sandbags. These sandbags helped, for example, to secure a nursing home that was acutely threatened by the masses of water from the Strem river, which had become a raging torrent.
Due to the easing of the weather situation in Burgenland, the emergency services in Burgenland have ended their assistance mission. However, they are ready to be deployed again at any time should the situation worsen. Assessments are constantly being carried out at provincial level – together with army experts.
