Storms cause one death, major damage, power outage

By Janene Pieters on July 27, 2018 - 07:48
When it is hot, usually there will be some storms and rain at the end of the day. . ()

After weeks of drought, parts of Zuid- and Midden-Nederland were hit by a rain storm on Thursday evening. One person was killed and one injured in Rotterdam when a tree fell on their car. In Gelderland thousands of homes were without power for a few hours. And Roosendaal was hit by a whirlwind, NOS and AD report.

Meteorological institute KNMI issued a code yellow warning for Noord-Brabant, Zuid-Holland, Zeeland, Gelderland and Utrecht on Thursday night. The service predicted thunderstorms, with gusts up to 70 kilometers per hour and hailstones up to 2 centimeters.

In Rotterdam a gust of wind blew a tree onto a car on Westersingel. One person was killed. A second was taken to hospital with serious injuries. 

Rain came through the roof of Rotterdam Central Station. Two cinemas of Pathe on Schouwburgplein were evacuated - some of the building's facade panels were blown away, resulting in lots of water leaking into the cinemas. The Rotterdam fire department received some 150 reports of flooding, blown down trees, and fallen branches.

Noord-Brabant dealt with uprooted trees and flooded streets. Roosendaal, Rucphen and Halderberge were hit by a whirlwind, according to the local safety office Veiligheidsregio Midden-West-Brabant. The whirlwind caused a lot of damage. The safety office received many reports of storm damage.

A lightning strike caused a fire in an electricity substation, causing a power outage that affected almost 13,500 households in the south of Gelderland, RTL Nieuws reports. The power went out in Druten, Appeltern, Maasbommel, Beneden-Leeuwen, Boven-Leeuwen and Batenburg, among others. Grid operator Liander reported that power was restored shortly after 11:00 p.m.

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