LH Mikl-Leitner at a briefing after the storm in Hollabrunn

After a violent storm yesterday Friday evening in the Hollabrunn area, State Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner took a look at the situation on site this Saturday. More than 100 millimeters of rain fell within a very short time yesterday evening. Roads were washed out, partially eroded and had to be closed. In some places the water was up to one meter high. Train traffic between Hollabrunn and Göllersdorf was also interrupted (note: the blockage has since been lifted). The “Augustwiesn” event site in Hollabrunn had to be evacuated, but the festival has currently started again. The urban area of ​​Hollabrunn was declared a disaster area by the district administration today, and today’s Saturday was all about clean-up work. A total of 102 fire departments with 167 vehicles and 731 members were deployed during the night and today, Saturday.

Following a briefing with the emergency services, the state governor said: “A big thank you to the hundreds of comrades from the fire departments and the numerous volunteers who have been on duty for 24 hours and have done the best job.” The most important thing is “That no people were harmed,” she said, and described the efforts of the fire departments and volunteers as a “signal that we in Lower Austria stand together and stick together in difficult situations.”

The state governor said that a specific amount of damage will only be estimated over the coming days and weeks, but the district administration is already expecting damage in the single-digit million range. But, says Mikl-Leitner: “On the part of the state of Lower Austria, we will support the region and will release funds from the disaster fund.”