Storm Emma hit Austria on Saturday morning with top wind speeds of up to 190 kilometres per hour in mountainous regions, killing four persons, three of them tourists, DPA reported. In the western Austrian province Tyrol two holidaymakers from Germany, aged 69 and 77, were killed in accidents when falling trees hit their cars or campers, police said. The wives of both victims suffered injuries. A fallen tree in the town St. Poelten in eastern Austria killed one woman and injured three other persons. In Salzburg, a 50-year-old tourist from Manchester, England was killed when a rockfall hit the taxi he was riding in, local media reported. Emma caused considerable traffic obstructions by fallen trees, holiday traffic came to a standstill in many parts of the country, leading to kilometre-long tailbacks, as several motorways were closed by authorities. Storm damage in the capital Vienna brought down public transport for a few hours. Train services around the country ran into delays or ground to complete halt in particular on southbound services from Vienna when a tower crane fell on the tracks at Suedbahnhof railway station, as well as westbound between Linz and Salzburg. Several 10,000 households were affected by power cuts. Authorities advised to stay indoors, but stressed that due to good preparation and previous experience, the situation was under control. Organizers cancelled two games of Austria's football Bundesliga, due to safety risks. Moving in from the west, the low-pressure system brought heavy rains, temperature drops and wind speeds topping 135 km/h even in lower-lying regions, in Vienna, top speeds of 122 km/h were reported. Experts predicted the worst to be over by Saturday afternoon, but winds would remain strong during the night, picking up again on Sunday morning.
