Water pipe leak prompts instability concerns, 11 Rotterdam homes evacuated

Emergency services evacuated 11 homes in the Rotterdam district of Kralingen-West on Wednesday night. Earlier that evening a water pipe broke on Oudedijk, flooding the the homes' cellars and foundations and prompting concerns that the homes may be unstable, RTL Nieuws reports.

"We first wanted to check that properly, and so we evacuated eleven homes", a spokesperson for the local safety office said to RTL. Inspection revealed that the homes are stable. "In any case, stable enough." But the residents could not return home on Wednesday night. "Mainly because they do not have gas, water or electricity. We have to arrange that now."

The cause of the leak is under investigation. The heavy rains over the past days are believed to play a role. The street was open due to foundation work, and the rain washed a lot of sand away from the pavement. That may have made the water pipe unstable and caused the break.

Overleg hoe men te werk zal gaan na de flinke waterlekkage op de Oudedijk. Instabiliteit van de panden zou worden bekeken door experts vanwege de hoeveelheid vrijgekomen water. pic.twitter.com/FY7cn9BNTP
— MediaTV (@mediatvnl) May 30, 2018

Complimenten van bewoonster voor onze collega’s , zijn al uren bezig en #Gastvrij locatie #Oudedijk pic.twitter.com/JReuqwGuRz
— Erica Laren van (@LarenErica) May 30, 2018

Wateroverlast door gesprongen waterleiding #Oudedijk, aantal woningen ontruimd. Stadswachten bieden ondersteuning pic.twitter.com/XUyRB6oDye
— Erica Laren van (@LarenErica) May 30, 2018

Flinke waterlekkage na werkzaamheden op de Oudedijk in Rotterdam. Hulpdiensten massaal ter plaatse. pic.twitter.com/Xso17AkT9q
— MediaTV (@mediatvnl) May 30, 2018

NieuwsOpBeeld heeft duidelijke foto’s op de website staan van de waterlekkage #Oudedijk #Rotterdam #Grip1 https://t.co/LlsnHJJfdj pic.twitter.com/fqViR5YFji
— Olaf (@Olafvandijk) May 30, 2018