Chaos by storm: Wiener Neustadt fights against floods!

Chaos by storm: Wiener Neustadt fights against floods!

A violent storm hit the Wiener Neustadt in Austria on Sunday evening, July 13, 2025. According to reports from merkur and Kurier was affected by far-reaching floods, fallen trees and necessary fire brigade inserts. The volunteer fire brigade was in use around the clock to fix the damage and to avert further dangers.

Already in the first night after the storm, up to 195 damaged areas were documented. The precipitation reached up to 90 liters per square meter in a very short time, which led to dramatic scenarios. The Hungarian district, the musician district and the city center, where trees such as toothpicks were kinked and streets were flooded.

cleaning up in full gange

From Monday to the early morning, the cleanup continued. Fire director Christian Pfeiffer found that the support of eight fire brigades from the area was crucial to successfully master the number of missions. A boathouse on the Vienna Neustädter Canal suffered significant damage from a fallen tree, but luck in misfortune: there was no injured person. Around 100 members of volunteer fire departments were mobilized to help the affected areas.

A special focus was the south motor (A2), where there were considerable traffic disruptions due to the floods, especially in the construction site area. Fire Councilor Christian Pfeiffer, who took over the coordination of the fire brigade, reported on an alarming increase in the missions shortly before 5 p.m. when a new storm front met the city again.

The consequences of climate change

In the context of these extreme weather events, the effects of climate change are increasingly pointed out. According to the analysis of the “Klamex” project of the German Weather Service, the frequency and intensity of such heavy rain could increase in the future. Tobias Fuchs from the DWD said that warm environments tend to bring more precipitation in the form of intensive heavy rain than in the form of extensive constant rain. This also has far -reaching consequences for population protection and urban development.

It is evident that local conditions, such as topography and urbanization, play a crucial role in the development of areas of application. The analysis shows that many fire brigade missions take place in heavily populated or sealed terrain where the water is particularly fast. The challenges of the emergency services therefore increase in the face of climatic changes and the lack of nationwide database about operations in heavy rain.

The feedback from various Austrian municipalities already show that there is an urgent need for action to improve population protection and the necessary infrastructure for future extreme weather events.