Heroes of the flood: honors for 100 rescuers in Lower Austria!

Heroes of the flood: honors for 100 rescuers in Lower Austria!

On May 20, 2025, State Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner presented certificates of gratitude and recognition to around 100 volunteers who were on duty during the severe flood disaster in the fall of the previous year in the Lower Austrian state parliament in St. Pölten. This natural disaster was characterized by extreme rainfall that brought as much precipitation in just a few days as would normally occur in an entire month, causing devastating damage.

A disaster alarm was triggered in almost all parts of Lower Austria, with some regions even exceeding 300-year flood marks. Tragically, five people lost their lives while over 20,000 buildings were affected. Of a total of 573 communities, 425 were affected, and the natural destruction led to dam failures, landslides, destroyed bridges, as well as closed roads and suspended train services. During the award, the governor recognized the remarkable cohesion and strength of the community in Lower Austria, which was evident in such difficult times.

Extensive support and relief measures

Over 330 million euros were made available for flood relief and more than 18,000 applications were processed. In order to support those affected as quickly as possible, the state of Lower Austria had already decided on an emergency aid package worth 75 million euros in September 2024 and increased a disaster fund to one billion euros, which also resulted in the first aid payments. A hotline for “help in the event of flooding” has been set up, which is available Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Inquiries around the clock can also be sent by email to noehilft@noel.gv.at. Those affected can report damage directly to their municipality, which then passes it on to the state.

The relief efforts were supported by a large network of volunteers, in particular by the approximately 4,500 volunteer fire departments in Austria. They are actively involved in dealing with the damage in affected regions. According to Statistics Austria, around 3.8 million people in Austria were active on a voluntary basis in 2021, which corresponds to an economic value of around 10.2 billion euros.

Honor and future prospects

Numerous representatives of state politics were also present at the honorary event, including LH deputy Stephan Pernkopf and state councilors Susanne Rosenkranz and Eva Prischl. Mikl-Leitner emphasized that the safety standards in the affected areas would be unimaginable without the dedicated work of the volunteers. The importance of voluntary work is also clear in the ongoing discussion about the legal framework for volunteers. The PRO-GE union is calling for financial compensation for volunteer emergency services, regardless of the circumstances of the disaster, and the National Council is planning to address this issue.

In view of the frequent and intense flood events in Austria, it is becoming increasingly important to improve the framework conditions for volunteer work and to ensure the necessary support for masked operations. Many more measures are therefore necessary in the future to increase security standards and promote the willingness to help.

For further information on flood relief, the website of the state of Lower Austria is available: Flood relief Lower Austria.

Additional reports on the flood situation can be found at OTS and ORF.