Viennese report from the flood zone "Many are shocked"
According to an eyewitness, the floodwater in Vienna is still flowing in the area intended for flooding.
Image: Thomas Wistawel
The same perspective: the Vienna River, which flows from the west through the Wiental to the city center, in its normal state.
Image: IMAGO/Depositphotos
Thanks to decades of flood protection, Vienna has been lucky.
Image: Thomas Wistawel
Status on September 16: The water is getting close to the rails.
Image: zVg
South of Vienna, the waters have also filled up incredibly. According to a local resident, the Liesingbach is usually around 20 to 30 centimetres deep.
Image: Walter Ross
But in a very short time, the stream filled up so much that it is now two and a half to three meters deep.
Image: Walter Ross
According to an eyewitness, the floodwater in Vienna is still flowing in the area intended for flooding.
Image: Thomas Wistawel
The same perspective: the Vienna River, which flows from the west through the Wiental to the city center, in its normal state.
Image: IMAGO/Depositphotos
Thanks to decades of flood protection, Vienna has been lucky.
Image: Thomas Wistawel
Status on September 16: The water is getting close to the rails.
Image: zVg
South of Vienna, the waters have also filled up incredibly. According to a local resident, the Liesingbach is usually around 20 to 30 centimetres deep.
Image: Walter Ross
But in a very short time, the stream filled up so much that it is now two and a half to three meters deep.
Image: Walter Ross
There is a disaster alert around Vienna. Austria's capital is under water, subway services and car traffic have been greatly reduced. The Viennese are in a state of shock, as one eyewitness reports.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Many areas in Austria are struggling with record rainfall and flooding.
- Lower Austria has been declared a disaster area, and the waters in Vienna have also swollen far above normal.
- The well-developed flood protection system in Austria's capital protects the Viennese.
- An eyewitness reports that the floodwater is still flowing in the area intended for flooding.
- It is expected to rain heavily again today.
In Austria, the flood situation is worsening by the hour. The province of Lower Austria around Vienna has been declared a disaster area. In the federal capital itself, people got off "lightly", as the Viennese Thomas Wistawel reports in an interview with blue News.
According to Wistawel, it should rain heavily again today, but in all places where the water was dangerously high, the situation has now eased again. This is mainly thanks to the "decades of flood protection".
But the situation is serious: "The Vienna River, which flows from the west through the Wiental to the center of the city, is normally a small trickle in which ducks can just about swim - it actually became a raging river," says the Viennese.
According to him, the Viennese are not afraid of the floods. Wistawel, who lives very centrally in the middle of the city, says: "I was out and about yesterday morning and of course there weren't many people on the streets, but the cafés were busy."
The floodwater is currently still flowing in the area intended for flooding.
"Many Viennese are shocked"
Only one of the subway lines is currently in operation, car traffic has been restricted to the most important journeys and schools and kindergartens are closed, according to Viennese couple Walter and Anita Ross. On Wednesday, the subway trains should be running regularly again.
Another eyewitness tells blue News that she faced challenges when shopping on Monday. "Some stores are closed and the groceries are logically in arrears," the Viennese woman explains.
In order to get everything on her shopping list - meat, vegetables, eggs, coffee - she had to go to several stores, as many stores do not have the full range on offer at the moment. "Many shelves are empty," emphasizes the Viennese, but people are now sticking together.
The Rossens say: "Many of the two million Viennese are shocked, as such a situation was unimaginable." The couple live south of Vienna in Hetzendorf.
During a walk along the Liesingbach stream on Sunday, the couple realized the extent of all the rain. It was their first walk in three days. Walter Ross says: "The stream is normally two meters wide and around 20 to 30 centimetres deep, but now it has become two and a half to three meters deep in a very short space of time."
Lower Austria hit even harder
Lower Austria has been hit even harder, however. "The situation there is very, very tense," says Walter Ross.
The state around Vienna is the state with the largest wine-growing area. The Viennese is now worried about the winegrowers who have not yet finished the harvest. "They now have to see what happens next. This year would be a sensational wine year."
He also reports that it is raining on and off today and that - if the rain lets up tomorrow and it gets warmer again - the snow will melt and the rivers will be filled with masses of water again.
The Viennese adds: "But let's hope that this spook will soon come to an end." Thomas Wistawel, meanwhile, is convinced that "tomorrow the spook will be over".
