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17. 08. 09. - 15:00

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17. 08. 09. - 15:00

Flooding causes €13.5mn in damage in Burgenland

By Lisa Chapman

Burgenland People’s Party (ÖVP) Agriculture Councillor Werner Falb-Meixner announced today (Mon) flooding in June in the province had caused damage of 13.5 million Euros.

He added eight million Euros of that amount had come from damage to private households, crops and businesses and the provincial catastrophe fund had covered three million Euros of it.

Falb-Meixner also said 87 provincial municipalities had submitted damage claims. The most, 60, had come from Güssing, followed by Strem (44), Wulkaprodersdorf (41) and Nickelsdorf (32).

He announced damage to public works such as buildings, streets and bridges had amounted to three million Euros.

The councillor added that there had also been damage to high-water protection facilities amounting to 350,000 Euros in Oberpullendorf district, 215,000 Euros along the Wulka River, and two million Euros along the Pinka, Raab, Lafnitz and Strem Rivers.

"High water has severely affected Burgenland this year, with the southern part of the province having experienced once-in-a-century flooding," he said, adding damage caused by the Wulka and Leitha Rivers had been the result of faulty planning.

Falb-Meixner added that every person living along a stream or a river was personally responsible for protecting his property from high water and that municipalities had to coordinate protection measures.

The councillor said private-property owners with objections had too often been able to block or delay high-water protection projects.

He noted, however, that a high-water protection project featuring construction of a water-retention basin with a capacity of 61,000 cubic metres would be undertaken in Strem in Güssing district at a cost of 450,000 Euros.

ORF has reported a similar project with a capacity of 400,000 cubic metres of water will be undertaken in Langeck in Oberpullendorf district.

Austrian Times

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