Flash floods and landslides have caused massive destruction in the Austrian ski resort of St. Anton am Arlberg and its surroundings. Heavy rain and melting snow triggered huge mudslides on the night of Friday to Saturday, August 16-17, sweeping away cars, destroying buildings and infrastructure, flooding homes and destroying major access roads. It is the third time in recent history that the resort has been hit by landslides and floods. Previously, this happened in 1999 and 2005, but this year’s floods were by all accounts the worst.
“Severe storms have caused major damage in many parts of Austria,” wrote Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on his Twitter/X account. “Thank you to all emergency services who are doing everything they can to help their fellow human beings and repair the damage.”
The landslide occurred on the famous Kandahar descent and the Steißbach and Jungbrunntobel streams overflowed their banks and turned into raging torrents, according to a press release from the local municipality. The “cradle of alpine skiing” was completely buried under mud, floods and debris. In the small village of 2,000 people in the popular ski resort, a total of 35 houses were damaged and countless cars were washed into the rivers.
A video by Tim Thurnwalder went viral and shows two cars being swept away by the flash floods. There are several dramatic videos and images of cars overturned, buried and washed away over the weekend. Fortunately, none of the cars had passengers on board and no one was injured.
The main access road to St. Anton, the Arlberg Pass, was largely destroyed by another landslide. The road is currently closed and the town of St. Anton can currently only be reached via Lech. Please check the road status before your trip. If you have booked a holiday in St. Anton, please note that many hotels have also suffered damage and are currently unable to accommodate guests.
St. Anton am Arlberg is the largest connected ski area in Austria and consists of the ski areas of St. Anton, St. Christoph Lech, Zürs, Stuben, Schröcken and Warth. St. Anton in particular has gained international fame for its incredible après-ski scene. The ski resort offers 350km of groomed slopes served by 87 lifts and gondolas. The Arlberg ski area receives around 2.5 million visitors each winter season and is equally popular for hiking and mountain biking in the summer months.
Residents and emergency workers were busy clearing debris and assessing the damage. The ski resort announced that all lift operations would be suspended as of Sunday, August 18. According to the Tyrolean State Fire Service, a total of 24 fire engines and 250 firefighters were deployed in St. Anton to provide assistance.
It is currently unclear when the access roads and lifts will be operational again. The floods and landslides are a clear example of the impact of highly unusual weather patterns around the world and the unpredictability of climate change. Glaciers in the Austrian Alps have lost almost a third of their mass in recent decades, leading to more frequent and intense floods.
As the region struggles to recover from the crisis, experts warn that such disasters will become more frequent. Climate change is expected to increase rainfall in many areas, causing flash floods and landslides in Alpine regions. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of floods across Europe, and heavy rainstorms and flash floods such as those in St. Anton are expected to become more frequent and intense due to higher temperatures.
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