withTo protect themselves from flooding, thousands of people in southern Holland had to leave houses and apartments along the Meuse River on Friday. Authorities said that in Venlo, on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia, a hospital with 200 patients was evacuated as a preventive measure.
At night, about 10,000 people in the city and neighboring communities were asked to leave their homes. The helicopter hovered over Venlo to coordinate the evacuation. According to the city, the Air Force uses aircraft with infrared cameras to monitor the stability of the dam.
As the authorities announced, the flood created a hole in a canal embankment near Maastricht, and many people had to leave their homes on Friday afternoon. Later they managed to patch up the hole to some extent.
“Fortunately, there are no dead people here.”
Soldiers and emergency services used sandbags to strengthen the dams on the Meuse and smaller rivers in the area. Many onlookers were asked to stay at home and not to obstruct emergency services.
As reported by NOS Broadcasting, Prime Minister Mark Rutte called the flooding conditions “horrible” and “violent” during his visit to Venlo. “Fortunately, there are no deaths like Belgium and Germany. We also hope that this will not happen.”
The government declared the flooding a disaster on Thursday night, which means that the state can step in to make up for losses not covered by insurance. When asked whether the flood disaster is related to climate change, Rutte told NOS: “There is no doubt that this will be the case. There really is something wrong here.”
Thousands of residents of Maastricht and neighboring towns had arrived safely the night before and were able to return home on Friday. Large amounts of water can sometimes cause huge damage. There are no reports of injuries.
On Friday night, the Meuse River, not far from the Belgian border, reached its highest water level since records began in 1911. In the morning, the water level there dropped again. In Roermond further north, highs are expected on Friday afternoon and Venlo on Saturday night.
