After storm damage

61 residents were moved out of the retirement home

Fortunately, the evacuation operation went smoothly(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at)

More than half of the roof of the Zell an der Pram district old people's and nursing home was covered by a storm on Saturday night. As water had also entered the building and caused damage, all 61 residents had to be moved to another home on Saturday afternoon for safety reasons. 

It was a violent storm front that swept through the municipality of Zell an der Pram at around 11 pm on Friday night. Unfortunately, the storm also covered a large part of the district retirement and nursing home. More than half of the roof is said to have been affected. The heavy rain subsequently caused large amounts of water to enter the building. A major alarm was sounded for the emergency services.

Provisional securing
Five fire departments (Zell/Pram, Blümling, Krena, Schulleredt and Peuerbach) with a total of 70 helpers and the support of two private companies attempted to make makeshift repairs to the damage and temporarily seal the roof with tarpaulins. 

Large parts of the roof were damaged(Bild: BFKDO Schärding)

Most of the water that had penetrated the building was removed with the help of vacuum cleaners and emergency lighting was set up. Fortunately, it was not necessary to evacuate the building immediately. It was possible to keep the home running safely for the time being during the night, and most of the residents were probably unaware of the incident.

Evacuation
For safety reasons, however, the 61 residents of the home were finally temporarily accommodated in a house in Schärding on Saturday afternoon. A large contingent of rescue workers was deployed. Fortunately, this relocation operation went without incident. It was not yet clear on Saturday when the senior citizens would be allowed back into their home.