Comparably less disastrous than the flash floods in Germany, those in Austria caused serious damage as well, although no known loss of human life. Hallein, south of Salzburg, was the city most devastated, videos showing the floods coming in there resemble those in the Ahr Valley in Germany.
On July 25, Austrian Agriculture Minister Elisabeth Köstinger (Austrian People’s Party, ÖVP), issued a press release harshly attacking environmentalists for having sabotaged efficient flood protection measures which, had they been in place, would have prevented the flood catastrophe in Hallein. Particularly blaming the Nature Protection Association which blocked measures via court injunctions already designed in Hallein during the past two years, Köstinger stated: “The legal complaints had the objective of preventing effective weir installations, because they claimed they would endanger the scenic view of the landscape.”
