How St. Anton am Arlberg Survived the Recent Flooding.
St. Anton am Arlberg Affected by Recent Flooding
St. Anton am Arlberg has once again seen significant flooding, but the damage is worse than ever before.
Significant flooding occurred on August 16th and August 17th, 2024 in St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, and although this is not the first flood the area has experienced, it is the most severe.
Reuters reported heavy rains in the Alpine regions of Austria, rendering areas of Vienna submerged over the weekend. The flooding caused significant damage to various parts of the country, and critically affected transportation.
Cars were swept up by the water and dragged through the ski resort of St. Anton am Arlberg, located in western Austria, on Friday. Lift services were halted on August 18th.
Watch a video of Austria’s flooding below.
10 News First, along with posting this footage, reports that “more than half of Austria’s average summer rainfall [fell] on parts of the country in just an hour” and “the muddy torrent was strong enough to drag cars out of the streets and into the town’s river.”
As one can imagine, the damage done to Austria’s infrastructure, in the affected areas where the flooding occurred, is severe.
A post from the Tyrol State Fire Brigade Association.
Who rushed to St. Anton am Arlberg following the flooding, reads, “after the severe storms yesterday in the municipality of St. Anton am Arlberg, two disaster relief trains from the fire brigades in the Landeck district, consisting of a total of 24 fire brigades with around 250 firefighters, are in action today to repair the greatest damage to the buildings.” See below.
The fire brigade was additionally supported with five large pumps from the districts of Imst, Innsbruck-Land, and Innsbruck-Stadt, as well as with two pumps from the state fire brigade school.
According to the post, a helicopter helped to further investigate the current flooding situation and the crisis team continues to meet regularly to discuss paths forward.
The fire brigade reported that “experts from the torrent and avalanche control are also on site and in constant contact with the emergency services, as the sediment barriers and retention basins are partially full and safety is the top priority for the emergency services.
The municipality of Grinzens was also badly affected by the storms – there were several floods here and numerous cellars had to be pumped out and water damage repaired.”
The clean-up efforts have continued as the fire brigade followed up with a post earlier today, explaining that this morning, “another disaster relief train from the Schwaz district with 92 women and men from 10 fire departments and the Mühlau fire department with the telescopic loader are supporting the clean-up work together with other fire departments in the Landeck district.”
Reportedly, over 200 firefighters are volunteering.
St. Anton and St. Christoph today to help with the clean-up efforts. See below.
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote in an X post on August 17th, “severe storms have caused major damage in many parts of Austria. Thank you to all emergency services who are doing everything they can to help their fellow human beings and clear up the damage.” See below.
One of the most significant damages to the ski resort is that the Arlberg Pass, the main access road to St. Anton, suffered multiple sections of the road destroyed by the flooding.
Sadly, events like these may become more and more normalized as our global climate becomes more unstable and extreme weather patterns emerge.
The upside is that skiers, including Austrian ski racer, FIS athlete, and Protect Our Winters Ambassador Julian Schütter, are taking note. In 2023, Schutter wrote a letter to FIS asking for multiple sustainability initiatives. The letter was signed by Mikaela Shiffrin, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, and more.
Change can be good or bad, depending on how we treat it and how proactive we all choose to be. For the future of skiing, change is certain, but how we address it is still up to us.
