A storm killed five people, including two children, and left a dozen injured on Thursday in Austria, authorities and the APA news agency announced. Three people were killed by a falling tree in the state of Lower Austria (east), and two children were killed in Carinthia (south). The children, believed to be aged 5 to 8, and the injured people were near a small lake in Carinthia when several trees were uprooted by gusts of wind, the Red Cross spokeswoman said for this Austrian state, Melanie Reiter.
roofs washed away
Elsewhere in this region bordering Italy and Slovenia, roofs were notably blown away, she said. “Severe storms today in Carinthia claimed the lives of two children and inflicted serious injuries on others,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote on Twitter.
In June, an 82-year-old man lost his life after landslides caused by heavy rains caused extensive damage, also in Carinthia. Austria is currently experiencing a heat wave and authorities have warned of thunderstorms. According to experts, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves and other extreme weather events.
