Heavy rains in Vorarlberg: Fire brigades fight for flooding!

Heavy rains in Vorarlberg: Fire brigades fight for flooding!

Wolfurt, Österreich - on Tuesday morning, July 8, 2025, Haves brought Vorarlberg rain in turmoil. In the communities of Wolfurt and Dornbirn in particular, the effects of the storm became significantly noticeable. According to Vol.at , the streets were massively flooded, and the local fire brigades were in constant use to control the situation.

In the village of Haselstauben, the Haselstauderbach threatened to run over, which led to dangerous situations, especially at a large intersection. The fire brigade was on site to take provisional measures and avert the impending floods. In Schwarzach, the river in Helbernstrasse stepped over the banks, which led to the flooding of the street and that the building yard and residents built provisional barriers for water control.

storm situation and evacuation threats

In the early morning hours of the same day, the situation in Hörbranz and Leiblachtal relaxed, but the heavy rain led to worrying evacuation threats at night. Several residential buildings in Hörbranz were about to evacuate, such as the the press . Due to the massive rainfall, the fire brigade had to record more than 210 missions in the past few hours to empty flooded basement and underground garages.

The fire brigade commander Markus Schub reported a dramatic decline in the Leiblach water level, which had increased significantly and then falling back to a normal stand. Authorities described the situation as a rare event that only occurs every 100 to 300 years, while in exposed areas in Vorarlberg, over 100 liters of rain per square meter fell within 24 hours. A record of 135 liters was measured in Hörbranz.

climate change and its consequences

Such weather extremes are not only due to local conditions, but are in a greater connection with climate change. According to the Deutschlandfunk , severe precipitation has increased worldwide since the 1950s, which is due to climate warming. Climate change leads to an increase in average temperatures and thus also to more evaporation, which in turn increases the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. This favors intensive rainfalls, as can currently be observed in Vorarlberg.

scientists warn that these extreme weather events will occur more frequently and require extensive flood protection measures. In Germany, for example, flood protection is continuously improved, while in Austria the pressure to create prevention measures is also growing in order to avoid future disasters.

The current operations of the fire brigade in Vorarlberg illustrate how important effective emergency planning and sustainable development of flood protection measures are. This is the only way to reduce the consequences of such extreme weather conditions in the future.