190,000 lightning strikes hit Austria in one day
15-07-2024 12:11 PM
Ammon News - Heavy rain and hailstorms caused damage across Austria on Friday, with weather forecasting service UBIMET recording 190,000 lightning strikes in the Alpine country in a single day, the highest figure this year.
In the western state of Vorarlberg, rainfall in the Rhine Valley near Lake Constance was so heavy that trees buckled, roofs were blown away and roads were flooded due to blocked drains.
Due to the large quantity of run-off water flowing into the Rhine, authorities closed off areas near the river to the public as a precaution. The Austrian Hail Insurance company estimated the total damage in Vorarlberg at around $1.3mn.