Throughout Austria, fire fighters, army soldiers and civilian experts checked snow-laden rooftops over sports centers, train stations, exhibition halls and other buildings with flat roofs to determine if they were in imminent danger of collapse. In the province of Salzburg, which is just across the border from Bad Reichenhall, authorities shut down several sports centers citing too much wet, heavy snow. Meanwhile, emergency rescue crews reviewed their readiness plans for responding quickly in the event of a roof collapse, Salzburg Mayor Heinz Schaden told national broadcaster ORF.

Averting disaster