Severe Storm and Debris Flows in the Merano Area
During the night of 7 July 1850, a disastrous cloudburst caused extensive damage in Algund, Gratsch, Plarsch, and St. Peter. Debris flows swept away houses and the church in Gratsch, claiming human lives and devastating agricultural lands.
Full transcription
Austria.
Merano, 7 July. Yesterday night at 11 o'clock a terrible misfortune occurred. The communities of Algund, Gratsch, Plarsch, and St. Peter were almost completely devastated by a cloudburst. In Gratsch, a debris flow broke loose and swept away the house of the Kircherbauer, inside which were 11 people, of whom only 4 dead and 2 barely alive, to whom the holy sacraments were still administered, could so far be dug out from the rubble. The magnificent fields of Algund present a frightful sight, 3 houses are almost completely buried in debris, and 3 people are missing in Algund as well. The road near the Töll could not be passed again until this evening. In Gratsch, the church is also completely ruined. The thunderstorm with lightning and thunder was terrible. The greatest devastation was caused by the overflowing of the Gröbenbach. The damage to the fields alone is said to amount to 400,000 florins. (I. Ztg.)
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1850 at a glance
The year 1850 in Merano was marked by significant administrative reorganizations, such as its elevation to the seat of a district authority and the establishment of the first free municipality. At the same time, infrastructure and educational developments shaped the town, while natural disasters like the severe cloudburst in July and a fire in Obermais caused extensive damage. Supra-regional topics, including the arrival of Archduke Rainer and railway planning, were also prominent in the reports. →
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"Severe Storm and Debris Flows in the Merano Area." Tiroler Zeitung - Wochenblatt für Katholiken, 10 July 1850. https://digital.tessmann.it/tessmannDigital/Zeitungsarchiv/Seite/Zeitung/21006/1/10.07.1850/210734/4. https://www.meran-archive.com/en/artikel/1850-07-10-schweres-unwetter-und-vermurungen-im-meraner-raum