BREAKING: ANOTHER Flash Floods and Landslides Devastate Austrian Ski Resort St. Anton am Arlberg – SnowBrains
Flash floods and landslides have caused massive destruction in and around the Austrian ski resort St. Anton am Arlberg. Heavy rains coupled with snowmelt triggered giant mud avalanches in the night from Friday to Saturday, August 16-17, that swept away cars, destroyed buildings and infrastructure, flooded houses, and caused the collapse of important access roads.
It is the third time in recent history that the resort has been struck by landslides and floods, previously in 1999 and 2005, but this year’s floods have been the worst.
“Heavy storms have done great damage in many parts of Austria,” Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote on his Twitter/X account, “Thank you to all the emergency service crews who give everything they can to help their fellow human beings and to repair the damage.”
The landslide went down the famous Kandahar run, one of the steepest runs in St. Anton, with a gradient of around 65%. The creeks Steißbach and Jungbrunntobel were flooded and turned into raging torrents.
The local community stated in a press release.
The “cradle of alpine skiing” was completely buried by mud, floodwaters, and debris. In the small village of the popular ski resort, consisting of 2,000 inhabitants, 35 houses were damaged, and countless cars were swept into the rivers.
A video by Tim Thurnwalder went viral, showing two cars being swept away by the torrents. There have been several dramatic videos and pictures of cars overturned, buried, and swept away on the weekend; thankfully, none were carrying any passengers, and no one has come to harm.
One main access road to St. Anton, the Arlberg Pass, saw large sections destroyed by a separate landslide. The road is currently closed, and the village of St. Anton is currently only accessible via the Lech Valley. Please check the road status before traveling. If you have booked a holiday in St. Anton, please note that many hotels have also suffered damage and cannot accommodate guests at this point.
Work has started to repair the Arlberg Pass to reinstate access to St. Anton.
St. Anton am Arlberg is the largest connected ski resort in Austria and consists of the ski areas St. Anton, St. Christoph Lech, Zürs, Stuben, Schröcken, and Warth. St. Anton, particularly, has garnered international fame for its incredible après ski scene.
The ski area offers 350km (220 miles) of groomed runs serviced by 87 lifts and gondolas. The Arlberg ski area sees around 2.5 million visitors each winter and is equally popular in summer for hiking and mountain biking.
Residents and aid crews have been busy clearing debris and assessing the damage. The ski resort announced that all lift services were suspended on Sunday, August 18. According to the Tyrolian District Fire Department, 24 fire trucks and 250 personnel were deployed to aid in St. Anton.
