|
|
| Roof collapses in Utrecht, injuring three |
Click here for more photographs |
Hundreds of trees have been uprooted by winds gusting up to 130 kilometres per hour and many roads have been blocked by branches or flooded as a result of the heavy rainfall accompanying the storm. A number of motorways have been closed because of trucks blown over.
Four people were injured in the central city of Utrecht when a building crane crashed through the roof of a university building (see photo). Also in Utrecht, the main post office was shut after roof tiles started falling from adjacent buildings. Amsterdam Central Station was evacuated because of flying debris after the storm damaged the building.
Storm alert given
The Dutch authorities issued a storm warning for Thursday and advised people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. All ferry services were suspended. Many international flights from the Rotterdam and Amsterdam airports have been cancelled or seriously delayed.
Schools in many cities, including Amsterdam and Almere, were evacuated in the morning or in the early hours of the afternoon. Children said walls and windows were shaking and one schoolchild was injured by a blackboard that came down.
"Such a storm has not been seen in years," the Meteorological bureau KNMI said in a statement, after the winds peaked in the late afternoon and evening to levels not seen since the early 1990s.
Elsewhere in Europe
Extensive damage was reported from other northwest European countries, too. In Britain, at least five people died in car accidents and two lost their lives when a wall collapsed.
Warnings were issued by governments across Western Europe, asking citizens to drive slowly or stay indoors if possible.
 |
| Firemen and other emergency services were kept busy throughout the storm, which peaked in the afternoon and early evening. |
 |
| Amsterdam tram 14 had to stop because a tree had come down, taking the overhead power lines with it. The tree and a metal pole were hoisted onto the pavement. |
|
| 15:30, at the start of the evening rush hour, dark clouds gather over Amsterdam's already congested ringroad. |
|
| As the rain pours down, a fence collapses at a building site in the capital. |
|
| Many tiles were blown off the roofs of Amsterdam's old town. |
Tags: Amsterdam, damage, deaths, distuption, dutch, motorways, netherlands, schiphol, storm