Thunderstorms, floods and hail also occurred in other European countries: in Austria, water sports enthusiasts had to be rescued. In Slovakia, a thunderstorm devastated the site of a festival and several visitors were injured.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain have not only caused problems in Germany. In Austria, the weather service UBIMET registered 190,000 lightning strikes on Friday. That is the highest number this year.
In the southernmost state of Carinthia, emergency services were deployed to several lakes to rescue swimmers, stand-up paddlers and surfers who were unable to reach the shore due to the strong waves. At Vienna Airport, around 40 flights were cancelled in the evening due to the weather conditions.
5,000 hectares devastated by hail
In Vorarlberg – Austria's westernmost state – the rainfall in the Rhine Valley near Lake Constance was so heavy that trees were bent, roofs were blown off and many streets were flooded due to blocked drains. Due to the large amount of runoff in the Rhine, the area near the river embankments was closed off as a precaution.
The Austrian hail insurance company estimates the total damage in Vorarlberg at around 1.2 million euros. Crop areas of more than 5,000 hectares were devastated.
In Tyrol, some roads had to be closed after mudslides hit them. In the state of Styria, the storm front caused flooding and fallen trees.
Open-air festival in Slovakia cancelled
In Trencin, Slovakia, an open-air festival had to be ended prematurely after a storm devastated the site and several visitors were injured.
The inspection of all facilities could not be completed in less than 24 hours, making it impossible to continue the program, the organizers said on social media.
Visitors to a festival take refuge from a thunderstorm on the airport grounds in Trencin, Slovakia. A thunderstorm with strong gusts of wind damaged and blew over tents, injuring several people.
On Friday evening, a large tent collapsed during a thunderstorm with strong gusts of wind. According to the news portal aktuality.sk, several hundred visitors were in the tent at the time. Rescue teams used sniffer dogs and thermal cameras to search for the people under the tent.
According to the emergency services, 15 people were injured, 14 of whom had to be treated in nearby hospitals. In some areas, the power had to be turned off. According to reports in the Slovak media, the public prosecutor's office is now investigating on suspicion of general endangerment.
135,000 households without electricity
Trencin is located in the northwest of Slovakia, not far from the border with the Czech Republic. Thunderstorms also caused severe damage elsewhere. According to the portal sme.sk, 135,000 households in the west of the country were temporarily without electricity because the lines had been damaged by lightning and falling trees. In the south, rail connections were particularly affected. Eurocity trains to Budapest and Prague had to be diverted.
Thunderstorms with heavy rain also caused problems in the neighboring country of the Czech Republic. Fallen trees brought rail traffic to a standstill on several routes.
