2023
Styria flood
Short Description
Detailed Description
In the beginning of August 2023 intensive and prolonged rainfall caused by a low-pressure system over the Adriatic Sea led to significant flooding especially in Carinthia, Styria and Burgenland.
South-West Styria received rainfall amounts over 200 mm from 4th to 6th of August, which is more than normally falls in the whole month of August. As the month of July had been rather wet, the groundwater table was generally high and the soils saturated, so infiltration capacity was low. Thus, flooding occurred and rivers overflowed their banks, which caused major damage to infrastructure and settlements. Several roads were flooded and made certain areas temporarily inaccessible.
The catchment area of the river Sulm was the most affected, in particular its tributaries in the south experienced significant flooding and peak flows with a return period over 100 years were observed.
At some groundwater measuring points, new records for the month of August were set as a result of this intensive precipitation event. High groundwater levels can continue to cause problems such as flooded basements in residential buildings, even after the main flood event.
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