Fines for ‘disaster tourists’ coming to gawk at flood damage near Venlo

Authorities from the municipality of Venlo said they fined several people who came to look at the damage that was caused by heavy flooding in the area.

“Too crazy for words”, Jos Teeuwen from the Limburg Water Board labeled the so-called ‘disaster tourists’. “You’re not only putting yourself at risk, what’s much worse, but you also endanger the entire area and the lives of thousands of people”, Teeuwen said according to RTL Nieuws.

The spectators had climbed on top of bulkheads to get a better view. Some even hung themselves over the bulkheads.

“There are many spectators on the dikes. You even families with children walking around. That’s dangerous! Such a dike can weaken and collapse”, Teeuwen warned. He made an urgent appeal to stay clear of the dikes.

Water levels near the Maas have slowly been receding, nonetheless, the Maas remains a fast-flowing and unpredictable water body. Chair of the Limburg Noord Security Region, Antoin Scholten, called upon people who do not live in Limburg to stay clear.

Scholten said people should rather come next week to help clean up the damage caused by the flooding.

Some criminals also tried to seize the opportunity to ransack unguarded homes. Scholten said he had heard about people posing as security guards in order to gain access to empty homes. They have since been removed by the police. “There are people who try to abuse the situation but they will not succeed”, Scholten said.