"The crown helps"

Severe storms hit Thörl with full force!

What was left of the senior's memories fits on this clothesline. . Some photos were painstakingly saved.(Bild: zVg)

The wooden house of a family in Thörl has survived the last 600 years - but now it has been hit so hard by the storm that they don't know if they can save it! The damage to the desperate residents is massive.

Perhaps it was one of the senior citizen's lifelong dreams to fly in a helicopter - but not under these circumstances. "Grandma and my sister had to flee from the ground floor to the second floor on the night of July 17 and were only just able to save themselves," says Fiona F. from Upper Styria, describing the dramatic moments, "because the water was just pouring in downstairs". Because the storm was so severe, none of the emergency services were able to reach the trapped people and the 80-year-old and the young woman had to be rescued by air.

A smile, just for the photo: the senior citizen with Fiona F., her partner and sister(Bild: zVg)

The ground floor and everything inside were completely destroyed. Fiona F.: "The water level in the house was 1.80 meters high, and when it disappeared, the mud remained up to half a meter high. You can't even imagine it, it's just totally desperate." The senior citizen's belongings - gone. Life memories - wiped out. "We only managed to save one box." Only one of the photo albums was still halfway usable. Because they wanted to make the stunned grandmother at least a little happy in her despair, "six of us washed the photos to save what could still be saved".

A picture of destruction(Bild: zVg)

A picture of destruction(Bild: zVg)

It is still uncertain when and if the ground floor of the old house, which dates back to the 15th century, will be usable as living space again. The damage is estimated at 150,000 euros! The insurance company will cover 10,000 euros of this ...

Fiona F. would like to express her heartfelt thanks to friends, neighbors and "even people we don't even know" who provided wonderful support and continue to do so. The fire department was also "immediately on hand and did everything in their power to help us". They could not thank us enough for that.

Hope for the "Krone" family
Now Fiona F. and her family are also hoping for support from another family: the "Krone" family. 

If you would like to help: "Die Krone hilft", account number AT152081500044569523, reference Thörl. 
Many people in the community have suffered severe damage! We would also like to send donations to other people affected.