After mudslides and floods

Working through the night, fears of more rain

The damage is particularly severe on the Vorarlberg side of the Arlberg Pass.(Bild: Bernd Hofmeister)

The clean-up work after the mudslides and flash floods in St. Anton am Arlberg in Tyrol is still in full swing. The former venue of the World Ski Championships still resembles a huge construction site. On Sunday, 350 emergency crews are still helping out. The weather forecast is a cause for concern. The Arlberg Pass remains closed until further notice!

"The streams are now flowing again. The task now is to continue clearing the debris from the catch basins and debris basins," explained Peter Mall, operations coordinator and spokesperson for the crisis team, on Sunday morning.

The solidarity and willingness to help is enormous. We can all count ourselves lucky to live in a country like this.

Peter Mall, Einsatzkoordinator

"Unimaginable dimensions"
In terms of weather, the night was at least "calm" - but there was still a lot going on in the municipality on the Arlberg. "We worked through the whole night. Especially with the excavators. We're dealing with unimaginable dimensions here," continued Mall.

Heavy rain showers forecast
There will be no break. The clean-up work in the village continued at full speed on Sunday. Around 350 emergency services and countless other helpers are once again lending a hand, according to Mall. The further development of the weather is being watched with excitement and trepidation. Heavy rain showers are forecast again for Sunday and Monday.

Pictures of the devastation and the clean-up work:

+2

Fotos

Arlberg Pass remains closed: "Opening impossible"
The Arlberg federal highway or pass road (B197), which was hit by mudslides on both the Tyrolean and Vorarlberg sides, is closed.

On Sunday afternoon, the situation was reassessed and a decision was made to keep it that way until further notice. "The overall situation, taking into account the weather situation, does not allow the B197 Arlbergstraße to be opened," said the state. The situation is now being reassessed on a daily basis.

The two provincial governors Anton Mattle (Tyrol) and Markus Wallner (Vorarlberg) visited the Arlberg road on Saturday.(Bild: Land Tirol/Muigg)

As the Arlberg tunnel is also currently closed due to renovation work, both road connections on the Arlberg are impassable for the time being. For the time being, Vorarlberg can only be reached from Tyrol via the Lechtal valley or Germany.

State assures financial aid
Governor Anton Mattle (ÖVP) assured those affected of financial support on Saturday: "We are offering support to all those who have lost belongings or suffered damage to their buildings. With the disaster fund, we can provide targeted financial assistance for such damage after natural disasters."