The man was driving his car when he veered into the raging currents of the Litz River in the western province of Vorarlberg.

As the rains subsided, several areas remained isolated in the west of the country, which has been worst hit by the flooding.

In Paznauntal, west of the province of Tyrol, stranded vacationers on Thursday began to receive shipments of food and medicine brought to them by 14 military helicopters, including five Black Hawk S-70s.

"Some 5,000 vacationers of every nationality are stranded," said Colonel Raymond Lammer, who is coordinating the air operation.

"If there is an emergency, we are ready to airlift the people," he told AFP, adding that authorities were waiting for the roads to be cleared so that vacationers can leave in their cars.

Nearly 1,000 troops have been mobilized in the region to help with rescue and reconstruction efforts.

The Austrian weather service has forecast light rain for Friday and sunny weather over the weekend throughout the country.

Meanwhile the water level of the Danube, which did burst its banks, receded moderately in the east.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel refused to estimate damage from the floods after an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday, but Die Presse newspaper on Thursday gave an estimate of 500 million euros (615 million dollars).

The government has already earmarked 30 million euros in emergency aid for those affected, while also seeking aid from the European Union.