After the hurricane

Decapitated church tower still without a roof

Fire department commander Thomas Abraham in front of the church.(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

In July 2023, a hurricane raged in Lower Carinthia. St. Marxen and St. Kanzian were particularly badly affected. The traces can still be seen today.

The church in St. Marxen had withstood the wind and weather for centuries. But then came July 17, 2023, when the storm peaks reached 94 km/h in the evening hours, probably even higher for a short time. And what happened still causes horror today: roofs were covered, trees in forests snapped like matchsticks. The 750-year-old church tower of St. Marxen was decapitated, its roof hurled into the cemetery.

Only a flat makeshift roof
The traces can still be seen today. During the local inspection by the "Krone", the church tower is still partially covered in plastic, with a flat makeshift roof sealing it off.

Commander Thomas Abraham in front of the destroyed forest area.(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

Mayor Thomas Krainz visits clean-up operations in St. Kanzian.(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

"That was terrible! We will never be able to forget that day", we hear from local residents: "Yes, the fear remains", admit the people visiting the cemetery, where not all traces have yet been removed. "We received alarms every minute back then. But it wasn't easy to get there. We had to clear countless trees from the roads," recalls fire department commander Thomas Abraham on the day of the storm: "Everything used to be wooded here. Today it's just a wasteland. Kind of frightening".

Even nine months after the disaster, not all the roofs have been repaired. This is because the companies are working at full capacity. Millions have been damaged in the forests. "In some cases, 100 percent of the trees were destroyed," reports Mayor Thomas Krainz near Wasserhofen: "It's interesting that one week after the storm, timber prices were reduced by 20 percent..." District fire brigade commander Patrick Skubel is also impressed by what happened at the time: "Thank you to all the emergency services! You did a great job."