Water damage in Josefstadt prison: prisoners temporarily relocated!

Water damage in Josefstadt prison: prisoners temporarily relocated!

Today in Vienna: A violent influx of water has affected the Josefstadt prison. On Wednesday, massive water ingress occurred during ongoing renovation work, which primarily affected the top floor of the building. Due to the heavy rainfall, which the construction workers did not take sufficiently into account, water penetrated into all of the electrical systems in the section. A larger proportion of the workforce therefore had to be relocated to other institutions, although the number of prisoners affected remains “well below 100”. For the prisoners who were temporarily housed in other prisons, they are in Vienna and the surrounding area Pulse24 reported.

Officials are still working on the exact extent of the damage; a final result is not yet available at this time. The safety of the detainees and the staff was guaranteed at all times, emphasizes the Ministry of Justice. However, there were power outages in the affected departments, making conditions even more difficult.

Challenges in Göllersdorf

The situation could hardly be more tense, especially in Göllersdorf, where the basement of the forensic therapeutic center (FTZ) is also under water. Manfred Zöhrer, deputy head of the FTZ, describes the situation: "We have no hot water or heating, the disaster relief service from Carinthia is on duty to pump out the basement." The pumps have been running since the night and there is an urgent need to get the boiler room dry as quickly as possible. In addition to the boiler room, the food store and the toilet paper warehouse are also affected. The rising groundwater level represents an additional obstacle. Here, too, numerous patients were transferred to the Josefstadt prison in order to relieve the strain on the infrastructure. Loud Nope A total of 41 patients were transferred from the FTZ to Josefstadt JA.

What's next?

In Austria, coordination of disaster management is the responsibility of the federal states. The State Crisis and Disaster Protection Management (SKKM) is the key to the efficient implementation of the measures. It ensures that in major crises, such as the current situation in the Josefstadt prison and the FTZ, everything runs hand in hand. All the relief staff and emergency organizations are closely linked here in order to help as quickly as possible, as on the website BMI can be read.

The crisis team of the Hollabrunn district administration and numerous employees have already done considerable work to deal with the situation. Justice Minister Alma Zadic and the General Director of Prisons, Friedrich Alexander Koenig, are optimistic and emphasize that despite the circumstances, the safety of all those affected is always guaranteed.

In these challenging times, the focus is on the cooperation of all parties involved. A good hand and teamwork are required - so that everyone, both prisoners and staff, can get through this difficult situation safely.