Storms send firefighters to fallen trees across Upper Austria

Strong thunderstorms and high winds kept firefighters busy across the Eferding, Linz-Land and Urfahr-Umgebung districts on Monday afternoon, ORF reported. Trees were uprooted and roofs had to be secured.

The first emergency calls came shortly before 4 p.m., mostly for trees blocking roads. In Herzogsdorf in the Urfahr-Umgebung district, a tree apparently caught fire after being struck by lightning. In Wilhering, firefighters called in a crane truck to remove a tree from the road.

Nearly 900 households in the St. Ulrich bei Steyr area were without power after an electricity line was damaged, Netz Oberösterreich said. Power outages were also reported in the Linz AG network around Lichtenberg, Kirchschlag, Glasau and Hellmonsödt. Technicians were working to repair the damage.