Flood disaster: Over 20,000 buildings are under water!

Flood disaster: Over 20,000 buildings are under water!

St. Pölten-Land, Österreich - The flood disaster in Lower Austria remains a shocking topic. State Councilor Pernkopf spoke of "a flood disaster that has never been there", which led to a historical event, as it once only happens every 300 years. Over 20,000 buildings in 425 municipalities were hit by the devastating floods, which resulted in massive damage. According to those responsible, 90 percent of the previous auxiliary funds have flowed into private residential buildings, while commercial operations and agricultural companies have received 8.5 and 1.5 percent. Most of the auxiliary funds were paid out in the St. Pölten-Land districts (103 million euros), Tulln (78 million euros) and Melk (33 million euros), reported the Zeitung .

urgency of the measures

The increase in help for hardship cases is also an important topic. According to the current plans, these can be raised from 50 percent to up to 80 percent, with 90 applications in the private sector so far. Hardfalls in the commercial sector were also registered. Fast solutions are required: The governor announced that protection projects should be prioritized in 2025 to avoid repeating such disasters. Martin Angelmaier, the head of the water management, confirmed that all dam breaks are now closed and the financing for preventive measures is secured.

An aspect that underlines the urgency of flood protection is the increase in exceptional rainfall. In September 2024, the precipitation values at many measuring points were exceeded by twice, which also tightened the situation. These climatic changes and their consequences now have to be taken into account not only in acute crisis coping, but also in long -term strategies. Preparations for more intensive surveillance and analysis are already in the pipeline, since the increase in such extreme weather events is unmistakable, as the Blitz calculator emphasizes in search of solution approaches.