Flood disaster in Austria in 1920

A flood disaster struck the Ennstal on September 5 and 6, 1920. Large areas between Mandling in the west of the Ennstal and Niederöblarn were flooded as a result of weeks of heavy rain, caused by bursting streams and rivers. Other parts of Austria were also severely affected by the floods. [One_half][/one_half] [one_half]Due to weeks of heavy rainfall in the Enns catchment area, the water level in the river had increased enormously. And because the snow in the mountains melted rapidly as the weather warmed, a flood disaster ensued, causing the entire valley to be submerged. The water level in Schladming was 30 cm, in Liezen 40 cm, and at the entrance to the Gesäuse gorge 60 cm higher than the previously known maximum water level of 1899. In Schladming, a height of 2,4 meters was reached, in Liezen a height of 4,7 meters, and at the entrance to the Gesäuse gorge approximately 5,0 m above the normal level. The Ennstal lies in the border region of Styria with Upper Austria southeast of Salzburg. The valley is approximately 60 kilometers long, deep, and in some places only 500 meters wide.[/one_half] [one_half]The weeks of rainfall, with cloudbursts sometimes lasting for days, brought such large quantities of water to the streams flowing into the Enns that the river burst its banks on Monday, September 6, and flooded the entire area. The Enn Valley towards the deep gorge and the Gesäuse Nature Park resembled a long, narrow lake. Almost all bridges over the River Enns from Mandling to Gröbming fell victim to the floods and had collapsed or been washed away. Many homes and businesses were partially or completely underwater. Between the Enns Bridge in the town of Pruggern and the Aigner Blacksmith's house, the Enns cycle path was washed away many meters deep, and the Gstatt-Enns Bridge was also severely damaged. The Sattentalbach in Pruggern had become a raging river. Many houses along the stream were flooded, and there was a risk of collapse everywhere. The Pilz Bakery mill in Pruggern was largely buried under mud and stones. The railway line was severely damaged because meters-high gravel and mud had been deposited on it, causing it to partially subside. The Moosheimer Bach carried so much mud and debris that the railway line was buried over a length of approximately 100 meters near Gröbming station.[/one_half] [one_half]The damage caused in the side valleys and their outlets to the main valley, where enormous mudflows had blocked many roads and railway lines, was particularly severe. This was a regrettable consequence of the fact that the wild streams of the Enns region had largely remained in their original state. The 'Ennsregulierungskommission', established in 1860, had repeatedly pointed out the great danger that could arise from the uncontrollable streams when unexpectedly large masses of water were introduced.[/one_half] [one_half]At the destroyed Gleiming Bridge, a 120-meter-long embankment of the railway line on the left bank was washed away. The greatest flood damage occurred in the unregulated river arms, including from Mandling to the mouth of the Weissenbach and from the Tunzendorfer Bridge to Öblarn. There, there were fears of the river breaching the railway line, putting the Gersdorfer Durchstich at risk.   The flooding of the Walchenbach, a brook that flows into the Enns near Öblarn, resulted in a diversion of the riverbed spanning more than 1 kilometer. This was caused by the blockage of the River Enns by boulders and debris. As a result, the important road from Öblarn to Sankt Martin an der Enns became completely unusable. Consequently, the agricultural lands of the village of Strimitzen near Öblarn were destroyed, and the flood disaster threatened to escalate to even greater proportions. The disaster immediately led to the establishment of government regulations to make rivers and brooks safer in order to prevent future floods. The section of the river between Tunzendorf and Niederöblarn was designated as a priority because this was where the greatest threat of flooding existed. As early as 1921, the straightening of the river Enns north of Tunzendorf was put out to tender. A length of more than one and a half kilometers was thereby regulated. The work was completed in 1924. It was painful that everything necessary to realize that straightening had already been ready in 1916. The postcard shows the village of Öblarn with the peaceful little river Enns. The Walchenbach flows straight through the village and empties into the Enns. For tourists who have been there, the villages and towns mentioned must surely look familiar.   One of the most important measures was to cut off the river loop between Ratting and Öblarn, creating the Gersdorfer Altarm, now an 8,5-hectare nature reserve and bird breeding ground. Work on this began immediately, and the cut-off was completed in 1924. This marked the beginning of the further canalization of the River Enns. The repair work on bridges, railway lines, and roads required large sums of money, and the Austrian government made many attempts to secure sufficient funds. Several newly built concrete bridges with wooden balustrades now span the River Enns.   One of the attempts was the issuance of a series of 20 stamps with a surcharge. The surcharge for each stamp was double the face value. The series appeared on March 1, 1921, and was valid for postage until March 31, 1921. This time, no story about the images on the stamps, but only about the reason for the issuance of the Austrian 'Hochwasser 1920' series, one hundred years ago.