Storm Ciara stronger than expected; damage reported across NL

Winter storm Ciara, which hit the Netherlands on Sunday and was still causing traffic problems on Monday morning, was stronger than expected, according to a Weeronline meteorologist Yannick Damen. The strong winds caused damage across the Netherlands, mainly in the form of blown down trees, house facades, and roof tiles. But as far as is known, there were no major incidents, NOS reports.

"The storm was indeed a bit stronger than expected," Yannick Damen of Weeronline said to the Telegraaf. "On drilling platforms in the North Sea, wind speeds were measured up to wind force eleven. The expectation was that the wind force would be ten."

The exact amount of damage caused by the storm will be announced through the course of Monday, but here follows a preliminary summary compiled by the Telegraaf.

In Rotterdam, the residents of some 40 apartments in a building on Jonker Franssenstraat were evacuated after part of the apartment building's wooden roof was blown off by the wind, according to the Telegraaf. The roof was largely still in place, but the bitumen and insulation came free and it was raining into the homes. The evacuated residents spent the night with family or friends, or in a hotel.

A gas station on the A12 near Harmelen lost its roof the the strong wind. As far as is known, no one was hurt. Trees toppled on the A2 and A1 highways. And in Roermond, a falling tree hit a moving car, leaving one woman injured, 1Limburg reported. The same thing happened on Wassenaarseweg in The Hague, near the embassy of South Africa. Here, no one was injured. Two trees toppled on the busy Schenkviaduct in the center of The Hague.

Trees on the tracks and branches and other items on the overhead lines also caused problems on the railways between Apeldoorn and Enschede, between Zwolle and Enschede, between Gorinchem and Leerdam, Breda and Tilburg, Zaandam and Enkhuizen, and Raalte and Nijverdal. A train hit a fallen tree between Eindhoven and Helmond. No one was injured, but the train sustained considerable damage, according to ProRail. This halted train traffic on the route for several hours. The same thing happened to the intercity from Amsterdam to Berlin, just across the border between Bad Bentheim and Rheine. No one was injured.

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