Expert clarifies

“When a film of water forms, everything runs off”

Heavy rainfall, storms and flooding are on the increase in Carinthia. At the beginning of the year, the state's groundwater reservoir was still above average. Johannes Moser from the Hydrographic Service explains what effects this can have.

"Krone": Mr. Moser, there were flood alerts in several Carinthian regions in 2023. A look at the data from the measuring stations still shows a high groundwater level. Where does that come from?
Johannes Mos er: It rained an extraordinary amount in 2023. In the Klagenfurt area, in Völkermarkt and in the Lavanttal valley, there was around 60 percent more rain than the long-term average. There was extreme rainfall in July and August, which led to high groundwater levels and flooding in the summer. There was also above-average rainfall in October and December.