Early snowfall causes chaos in western Austria

© APA/Gindl

A lorry on the A10 near the Tauern tunnel.

The Tauern tunnel and A10 motorway had to be closed on Thursday morning in the direction of Salzburg because of a fallen tree.

Fallen trees also caused power outages in the Tyrolean regions of Brandenberg, Hochfilzen, Zillertall in Zell and Gerlostal.

The Arlberg railway line had to be closed between Wald am Arlberg and Dalaas. Travellers were warned of delays and cancellations on the train service between Tyrol and Vorarlberg until noon. A rail replacement bus service has been set up.

Experts are also warning of an increased danger of avalanches in Tyrol.

Some roads, including the Lech valley road between Lech and Warth in Vorarlberg have been closed. The Pass-Thurn-Strasse near Mittersill (Pinzgau), was also blocked by fallen trees.

Four vehicles crashed in Riezlern in Vorarlberg due to the chaos caused by the snowfall. Numerous drivers had to be rescued from the Hochkönig-Bundesstraße road in Salzburg after they got trapped in snow.

By law drivers must switch to winter tyres by November 1st, and drivers using mountainous roads are advised to only drive with winter tyres from now on.

Heavy rain in Upper Austria has caused local flooding, with firefighters called out to pump water out of garages and basements.