Heavy rain and hail caused damage across Austria on Friday, with the weather service UBIMET recording 190,000 lightning strikes in the Alpine country in one day, the highest figure this year.
In the western state of Vorarlberg, rainfall in the Rhine Valley near Lake Constance was so heavy that trees were bent, some houses were left without roofs and roads were flooded due to blocked drains.
Due to the large amount of stormwater flowing into the Rhine, authorities closed areas near the river to the public as a precaution.
The Austrian hail insurance company (Österreichische Hagelversicherung) estimated the total damage in Vorarlberg at around 1.2 million euros.
More than 5,000 hectares of crops were destroyed, it was announced.
Flooding and falling trees
Roads in the neighboring state of Tyrol that were blocked by mudslides partially reopened on Saturday.
The Oberinntal and Villgratental roads remained closed.
In the southeastern state of Styria, storms caused flooding and downed trees.
In the neighboring southern state of Carinthia, emergency services were deployed to several lakes to rescue swimmers, paddlers and surfers unable to reach shore due to strong waves.
About 40 flights had to be canceled on Friday evening at the Vienna airport due to unfavorable weather conditions, N1 writes.
