Many residents evacuated from flooded Limburg able to return home

More and more Limburg residents were able to return to their homes after hastily being evacuated due rapidly rising water levels from the Maas river. Some municipalities north of Venlo are still struggling with high water - residents of Bergen are still evacuated, for example. But elsewhere in the province, the water levels are falling steadily.

In Zuid-Limburg, most people who live around the Maas are back at home. In the municipality of Meersen, residents of the neighborhoods Brommelen, Geulle aan de Maas, and Westbroek were still waiting to get the all-clear on Sunday afternoon, Veligheidsregio Zuid-Limburg reported. There was still flooding in these areas.

In the northern parts of the province, the situation is also improving. Almost all of the 10,700 Venlo residents evacuated from 4,746 homes were allowed to return home on Sunday afternoon, the municipality announced. Only residents of Maashoek and Maasstraat were still evacuated. "We hope that there will be clarity for them soon," the municipality said in a statement.

The Venlo dykes were inspected and judged safe, but the municipality urged locals to "check your home carefully" upon returning. The flooding may have caused structural damage.

The VieCuri hospital in Venlo, which was evacuated on Friday, will reopen on Wednesday. In the coming days, the hospital will be prepared for reopening. Some 240 patients were transferred to other hospitals on Friday. Some of them will be transferred back to VieCuri on Wednesday. These involve patients whose care can be best provided in Venlo, ght hospital said.

Residents of Echt-Susteren were allowed to go home on Saturday evening, as were many thousands of Roermond residents. The residents of the village of Buggenum were given the all-clear on Sunday afternoon.

Water levels were still worrying in the municipalities of Bergen, Gennep, and Mook en Midelaar, Veiligheidsregio Noord-Limburg said on Sunday evening. Only the residents of Bergen were evacuated. The security region expects water levels in these areas to start falling through the course of Monday. "There is still a high level of alertness. We remain vigilant until the water mass has left the province," the security region said.