Snow disaster in western Austria: chaos on the streets and power outages!

Snow disaster in western Austria: chaos on the streets and power outages!

A massive onset of winter had devastating effects on traffic in numerous regions of Austria on Saturday. Particularly in the west, in Vorarlberg and Tyrol, as well as in Upper and Lower Austria, there were extensive traffic disruptions and road closures due to the heavy snowfall. For example, the Vienna outer ring motorway (A 21) was closed due to stuck vehicles, and there was a complete closure between the Steinhäusl and Vösendorf junctions. Diversions via alternative roads were put in place, but many main routes remained difficult to pass Small newspaper reported.

Snowfall keeps emergency services on their toes

The fire brigades were involved in a large-scale operation in several federal states, especially in Upper Styria, due to fallen trees and road blockages. In Upper Austria, over 790 operations were registered by the afternoon, while the situation on the streets did not appear to be easing. The ÖAMTC explained that many cars got stuck due to the winter driving conditions, making clearance work significantly more difficult. The emergency services also reported affected rail connections that were interrupted by fallen trees on the tracks, which led to delays of up to two hours.

In Vorarlberg, 50 cm of fresh snow fell in the mountains overnight, which raised the avalanche warning level to “major” (level 4). Winter sports enthusiasts were urged to exercise extreme caution, as spontaneous avalanches could be triggered at any time, as the ÖAMTC also warned. The power supply was also severely affected; In Styria around 10,000 households were without power around midday, while in Carinthia around 4,000 households were left in the dark cold. The country suffered from numerous traffic problems, while the highway network was severely compromised by trees falling on the roads, such as ÖAMTC reported. However, meteorologists expect the weather situation to improve on Sunday, although temperatures are expected to remain bitterly cold.