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

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

On May 20, 2025, Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner presented thanks and recognition certificates to around 100 volunteers in the Lower Austria Lower Landtag in St. Pölten, who were deployed in autumn of the previous year during the difficult flood disaster. This natural disaster was characterized by extreme rainfall, which brought as much precipitation within a few days as normally in a whole month, which led to devastating damage.

In almost all parts of Lower Austria, catastrophic alarm was triggered, with some regions even exceeding 300-year flood marks. Tragically, five people found their lives, while over 20,000 buildings were affected. Of a total of 573 municipalities, 425 were affected, and the natural destruction led to dam breaks, slope slips, destroyed bridges as well as blocked roads and set train traffic. When honored, the governor praised the remarkable cohesion and strength of the community in Lower Austria, which was shown in such difficult times.

extensive support and auxiliary measures

For the flood aids, over 330 million euros were provided, and more than 18,000 applications were processed. In order to support those affected as quickly as possible, the state of Lower Austria decided in September 2024 an immediate aid package of 75 million euros, as well as a disaster fund increased to one billion euros, which also resulted in initial aid payments. A hotline for "help with floods" has been set up, which can be reached from Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays 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 community, which then passes on to the country.

The aid campaigns were supported by a large -scale network of volunteers, in particular by the approximately 4,500 voluntary fire departments in Austria. These actively get involved in coping with damage in affected regions. According to Statistics Austria, around 3.8 million people in Austria were volunteering 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 the state councilors Susanne Rosenkranz and Eva Prischl. Mikl-Leitner emphasized that the security standards in the affected areas would not be conceivable without the committed work of the volunteers and volunteers. The importance of voluntary work also becomes clear in the ongoing discussion about the legal framework for volunteers. For example, the Pro-GE union calls for a financial compensation for volunteer forces, regardless of the circumstances of the disaster, and the National Council is planning to deal with this topic.

The website of the state of Lower Austria is available for further information on flood help: Flood help nö .

Additional reports about the flood situation can be found at Orf .