Bicyclist seriously hurt from falling tree during Storm Pia; Very high water levels

A tree that toppled over during Storm Pia on Thursday left a tandem bicyclist seriously injured in Wilp, Gelderland. The first official winter storm to hit the Netherlands this year also resulted in high water levels around the country, and resulted in the closure of all storm surge barriers for only the second time in history.

The woman who was seriously hurt while riding a bike was identified as 39-year-old social worker from Deventer. She was riding on a tandem bicycle with a client from a facility for people with intellectual disabilities, according to RTV Oost. The counselor decided to take her client for a bike ride at about 4:30 p.m.

The incident happened a few minutes later, trees toppled over on the cycling path along Molenallee, one of which crashed down on the two women. The social worker was trapped under the tree, requiring firefighters to remove several branches so she could be freed by paramedics.

She was transported to a hospital in Zwolle. Her client suffered minor injuries and was brought back to the facility where she resides, the broadcaster reported. The security region for northern and eastern Gelderland reported at about 5:30 p.m. that the entire cycling path was closed due to the downed trees.

The sustained winds and strong gusts brought by the storm led to the closure of all six major storm surge barriers in the Netherlands, according to infrastructure agency Rijkswaterstaat. The only other time this happened was on January 3, 2018.

The Ramspol barrier was the first to close on Thursday morning, followed by the barrier at the Hollandsche IJssel waterway, the locks in Haringvliet, and the storm barrier at the Oosterschelde. Later in the evening, the decision was made to also close the Maeslantkering and the Hartelkering.

The two structures were designed to only close on average about once every seven to ten years. The Maeslantkering barrier is believed to be the third largest moving structure on the planet. When it was closed by order of Rijkswaterstaat workers during a storm in 2018, it was meant as a real world test.

Its closure on Thursday was automatically triggered as designed when the expected water level of 3.00 meters at Rotterdam was reached. All of the storm surge barriers were eventually reopened, but the shipping industry could expect some delays due to the planned maintenance at the Hollandse IJssel storm barrier. This will likely last all of Friday morning, Rijkswaterstaat said.

The water level in Delfzijl was projected to reach 4.70 meters above NAP, the true Amsterdam water level used for measurements across Europe. NAP is considered to be the average sea level at the North Sea. Guests staying at the Hotel Boegvlucht in Delfzijl were told to find other accommodations as the high water could cause them to become trapped. At 4.70 above NAP, the water level would be at the knees of people in the hotel's restaurant, the owner, Jan Bosma, told RTV Noord. "In the hotel rooms, there will by a layer of water of five to ten centimeters on the floor." He was hopeful the water would recede by 9 a.m. on Friday

There was a threat that the sea water could begin to flood Egmond aan Zee in Noord-Holland, according to the regional broadcaster. The town was spared as the storm blew over.

The early morning water level in Harlingen reached 3.20 meters above NAP, according to NOS. The high tide flooded several quays there, and also in Scheveningen. The water has since receded from its highest point.

The broadcaster also noted that nearly the entire port area at Oudeschild on the Noord-Holland island of Texel was flooded when the water reached a height of 2.70 meters above NAP. Some of the restaurants there could only be reached by boat as a result.