Amidst Vienna's tempest, a female ventures beneath a moving bus in its waters.
In Austria, the capital city Vienna, experienced an unprecedented deluge this summer, causing flooding on streets and railway tracks. A woman was caught in the floodwaters and got trapped beneath a stationary bus at a bus stop. The emergency services reported that she was swept away and pinned under the bus. Over 110 liters of rain per square meter drenched the outskirts of Vienna, setting a new record for summer rainfall. The ORF broadcaster reported this as the highest monthly rainfall value in the last 152 years. Even hail fell in Vienna during this downpour.
According to the Vienna Fire Department, a woman slipped on a sloping street near the bus stop and got carried away by the raging water. She got pinned under the bus, and the firefighters had to lift the vehicle to reach and save her. She was transported to the hospital in a critical state.
The Fire Department was inundated with calls due to flooded streets and water ingress in buildings. The heavy rainfall disrupted train services on one city line as well. However, the entire city area wasn't affected by the storm.
Arlberg Route Partially Collapses
The Tyrolean Alps were hit by intense storms on a Friday evening, causing substantial damage. The Arlberg pass road will remain closed until at least the afternoon of Sunday. The primary route connecting the western Austrian states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol was obstructed due to landslides. At one point, the roadway gave way and collapsed, as informed by local authorities.
Normally, the Arlberg is navigated through a tunnel below, but as the tunnel is currently undergoing renovations, drivers traveling from Tyrol to Vorarlberg have to take lengthy detours via the Tyrolean Lechtal or through Bavaria. Fortunately, the Arlberg railway tunnel was unaffected by the storm.
Clean-up activities are progressing at full speed in St. Anton am Arlberg, where two streams overflowed during the storm on Friday evening, damaging a bridge and flooding cellars. Numerous streets were submerged, and several cars were washed away into a river. Mercifully, the vehicles were empty. Massive landslides occurred in other parts of Tyrol as well. Currently, the Sellraintalstraße is impassable.
The woman's situation was closely monitored by The Commission, overseeing emergency response operations in Vienna. Following the storm in the Tyrolean Alps, The Commission initiated discussions with authorities in Tyrol and Vorarlberg to implement temporary solutions for drivers using the Arlberg Route.
