Europe – Rain Triggers Deadly Flash Floods and Mudslides in Germany, Austria and Italy
August 19, 2021
Flash floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rainfall caused widespread damage across parts of southern Germany, Austria and northern Italy from 16 August. One person died and one reported missing in Bavaria, Germany. Flash floods in Austria buried a train in rocks and debris in Wald im Pinzgau, Austria.
Bavaria, Germany
Flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall were reported in Grainau in Garmisch-Partenkirchen district, southern Bavaria in Germany.
Police reported 12 people were swept away or stranded after flash floods from the Hammersbach stream swept through the narrow Höllental gorge situated at the foot of the Zugspitze, the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains. The area is popular with tourists and hikers.
Austria
Heavy rain in parts of Salzburg State in Austria from 16 August triggered mudslides and flash floods in the Pongau and Pinzgau regions.
The small city of Sankt Johann im Pongau recorded 36 mm of rain in 1 hour and 51 in 2 hours on 16 August 2021.
Emergency teams including 1,400 firefighters and around 70 high water rescue specialists carried out around 500 interventions. Salzburg Water Rescue Service said it was lucky nobody was killed considering the amount of flooding and rain.
Roads were blocked in several locations and dozens of people had to be rescued from cars. In Dienten municipality in Pinzgau, 3 people were recued by firefighters after a bus and a car were both swept into a stream by a mudslide. All 3 suffered injuries, one of them seriously.
Italy
The severe weather caused damage in parts of South Tyrol Province of northern Italy on 16 August. The communes of Ahrntal and Pflersch were the worst affected. Firefighters responded to 200 incidents, including flooded buildings and roads. Thirty people were evacuated after floods and mudslides in areas of Pflersch.
Sankt Johann im Ahrntal (also San Giovanni) recorded 43mm of rain in 1 hour on 16 August 2021.
Story by Richard Davies for Floodlist.com
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