Southern Austria Faces Risk of Landslides After Heavy Rain – Climate Crisis Response and Caution Urged

2023-12-26 10:44:24

After the heavy rain at the end of last week, there is still a great risk of landslides in southern Austria. In St. Veit an der Glan, north of Klagenfurt in Carinthia, ten residents had to leave their houses on Sunday evening because the slope behind them threatened to slide.

A road was also closed because water runoff had washed it out and part of the road had broken away, as the police reported on Monday. According to the crisis team, around 80 major landslides had been reported and assessed by Sunday afternoon.

Carinthia’s Governor Peter Kaiser again warned of mudslides. “Great caution” is required. “Half a mountain has slipped down in a community,” said Kaiser. “We simply didn’t know anything like this here before.”

Because such floods are becoming more and more common due to the climate crisis, people in Carinthia are considering setting up their own disaster trains, similar to the example of the volunteer fire department. Politics must respond to such climate changes accordingly.

The neighboring federal state of Styria had already recorded 280 landslides by Sunday morning. But river and stream levels continued to fall on Monday, according to current data from the Hydrographic Service. The water also receded in the Mur in Graz. (DPA/for)

Buried road in Carinthia.

GERD EGGENBERGER / APA / AFP
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#Storm #Netherlands #Maeslant #barrage #closes #gates

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