Snow, flooding, mudslides in Austria kill 1, injure 2

BERLIN — A man died and two people were injured as parts of Austria dealt with masses of snow, the threat of avalanches and flooding by swelling rivers and lakes on Monday.

An 80-year-old man died when his home was hit by a mudslide in Bad Kleinkirchheim in southern Austria, the news agency APA reported.

Another mudslide in Bad Gastein, south of Salzburg, destroyed two homes, burying two women inside. Firefighters rescued one of them quickly, the other one only after several hours. Both were injured and taken to the hospital.

In Gurktal, in the Carinthia region, some 70 firefighters had to evacuate the residents of 15 buildings because of the swelling Gurk river.

Several train lines were interrupted and about 1,700 homes were without electricity for several hours.

Elsewhere in southern Austria, several villages were cut off because of heavy snowfall.

Schools stayed closed and helicopters scouted the nearby mountains for possible avalanches.