Heavy rain causes flooding in the south; rain moved north on Saturday

The south of the Netherlands was hit by heavy thunderstorms last night, as videos on social media showed. The KNMI issued a code yellow warning early for the north early on Saturday. In the course of the day, the warning was retracted again.

Streets, tunnels and cellars were flooded last night due to the torrential rain in many places in the south last night. Earlier on Friday, the KNMI had warned that thunderstorms with heavy rain and possibly hail would hit Zeeland, Noord-Brabant, Limburg, Zuid-Holland and Gelderland.

“We have received many reports, all concerning flooding”, a spokesperson for the Brabant-Zuidoost fire brigade said to the AD. “It began in Kempen and from there went over to Waalre, Eindhoven and Geldrop.”

“At the moment, downpour is causing flooding in various places in the area”, the municipality of Zaltbommel wrote on Facebook around 8 p.m. on Friday night. “The sewers are filling up in no time. As soon as the rain subsides, the water level in the sewer will quickly drop again.”

Videos on Twitter showed how water poured in from the roof of a Gall & Gall in Zaltbommel.

The storms also hit a night shelter on the Mathildelaan in Eindhoven causing 22 people to end up on the streets, according to the general manger of the shelter, Thijs Eradus. “Due to the circumstances, we will move to the Generaal Horrocksstraat. We will do everything we can to make the transition goes smooth. There will also be constant security”, Eradus wrote in a press release.

On Saturday, Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe can expect their share of rainfall, along with the possibility of hail. In the course of the day, the rain is expected to decrease. A code yellow warning issued earlier in the day was retracted again.