The storm also pushed the Vienna fire brigade to its limits: more than 100 operations were carried out by late Thursday afternoon. Among other things, a mobile toilet had to be salvaged from the Danube Canal, and in Liesing a gust had torn loose a photovoltaic system and thrown it onto parked cars and the roof of an adjacent building, reported fire department spokesman Lukas Schauer.
One emergency call after another reached the operations center, especially from midday, which is why the Viennese professionals resorted to the support of their colleagues from the Vienna State Fire Brigade Command. The operations were spread all over Vienna, with a focus south of the Danube. In the 23rd district, the PV system became independent and caused major damage.
Fire brigade divers completed an unusual operation at Schwedenplatz and used a cable winch to recover a mobile toilet that had been blown into the Danube Canal by the wind. The toilet was then secured at the stairway. In the evening, an overhead sign came loose on the S2, which had to be secured by the fire brigade.
At 4:04 p.m., the power supply failed in parts of the city center and Alsergrund, which affected around 300 households, confirmed Christian Call, spokesman for Wiener Netze, an online report from “heute”. The emergency teams were on their way to reconnect with the buildings, which in Vienna are all supplied from at least two sides.
The storm was also suspected to be the cause of the disturbances, which can cause short circuits in street lamps or traffic lights, which in turn can affect houses. According to the call, the supply was restored in all households by 5:15 p.m.