Motorists advised to stay off the road as storm Eunice hits

Public works department Rijkswaterstaat urged motorists not to drive on Friday afternoon in the provinces covered by a code red alert due to storm Eunice. Winds up to 130 kilometers per hour are expected in the coastal provinces, where code red applies. Public transport services in Utrecht, Rotterdam, and The Hague are scaling down or halting their bus and tram services for Friday afternoon. 

The weather alarm will be in effect from 2:00 p.m. for the provinces of Zeeland, Zuid-Holland, Noord-Holland, Friesland, Flevoland, the IJsselmeer area, and the Wadden islands. "The advice is not to drive in these provinces," Rijkswaterstaat said on Twitter. "Be aware of very strong gusts and unexpected situations on the road."

Rijkswaterstaat expects some roads to ferry services from the Wadden islands to flood on Friday. Port areas outside the dykes may also flood. Many ferry services have already canceled their ferries for later on Friday.

There will be high water levels along the entire coast between Friday evening and Saturday morning, with the water reaching its highest point in the north on Saturday. Rijkswaterstaat will close the Hollandsche IJsselkering again on Friday afternoon. The Harlingvliet locks are also expected to close in the night from Friday to Saturday.

The dyke between Enkhuizen and Lelystad, the Houtribdijk, will be closed on Friday afternoon. As will the N57, the road at the Oosterscheldekering. These roads are sensitive to wind and too dangerous during storms.

No trams will run between Nieuwegein, IJsselstein, and Utrecht from 2:00 p.m. Transporter U-OV warns travelers to take account of fewer trams from 1:00 p.m. The buses in Utrecht will continue to run for the time being, but passengers should take possible delays and cancellations into account, the Utrecht transporter said.

The Rotterdam city transport company RET announced that their last trips were at 10:00 a.m. so that their vehicles could be inside by noon. Trams and buses will stop running in The Hague at 2:00 p.m, HTM said. 

NS said on Thursday evening already that it was halting train services at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. 

Bus operator Connexxion will also not run buses in the regions IJsselmond, Hoeksche Waard, Goeree-Overflakkee, and Zeeland on Friday afternoon. In Zeeland and IJsselmond, the buses will stop running at 2:00 p.m. Kids will be picked up from school before that. In Hoeksche Waard and Goeree-OVerflakkee, the buses will be parked around 1:00 p.m. 

Meal delivery service Thuisbezorgd.nl will stop delivering meals throughout most of the country from 2:00 p.m. Delivery workers will only be active in Maastricht and Heerlen. The weather warning in Limburg is only code yellow. If the storm advances there, the deliverers will also be sent home. 

Orders are still being taken until 1:00 p.m., said a spokeswoman. "The delivers can then go home on time."