Flooding: It looks like 1998

It looks like 1998 when we had 5.7 " of rain, according to Jan Geluk from the water board Hollandse Delta. The board has been busy since early this morning utilizing all emergency water pumps. All employees were called in.One of the ten state emergency pumps is at the pumping station in Oude-Tonge. In the pouring rain they were trying to get it up and running as fast as they could. Additional pumps are brought in from Rijkswaterstaat. According to Geluk the safety in the region is not an issue, but it is important to drain the water as soon as possible.

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Since the heavy downpour in 1998 water storage areas are added for 15 billion euros. Now you can really see it makes a difference, states Geluk.

Temporarily a lot of water can be stored before it goes toward Grevelingen, het Haringvliet and up the rivers, but it's still a huge undertaking. Normally we pump 0.5" a day, now it's 5". We can only hope not much more is added.

In the center of Oude-Tonge major branches are scattered on the street. There is no one  to be seen, only one woman, walking her two dogs and hurrying home with an umbrella destroyed by the wind.

Lakes seem to have formed everywhere along the roads on the Zuid-Holland island. They are flooded fields, with here and there beets, corn and red cabbage.