Over €5 mil. raised for flooded Limburg; Water levels falling

Fundraiser Giro 777 so far raised over 5 million euros for the victims of the floods in Limburg, the National Disaster Fund reported. Water levels are falling almost everywhere in the flooded province, though there are areas where the situation is still worrying, Antoin Scholten, mayor of Venlo and chairman of security region Limburg-Noord, said on Sunday evening.

"A large part of the residents of the security region can breathe a sigh of relief," Scholten said in a press conference, NOS reports. But in some areas, the water levels are still worrying. The situation is most critical in Bergen, where residents were evacuated. There are also concerns for Gennep and Mook en Middelaar, though so far residents were allowed to stay home.

The high water in these areas is expected to decrease during 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.

According to Scholten, Noord- and Midden-Limburg crawled through the eye of the needle. "Also thanks to the efforts of volunteers, military personnel from the Ministry of Defense, and employees of the water board who contributed to strengthening the weak spots." Now the priority is on tackling the 17 weaknesses in the province's flood protection, he said. 750 million euros was set aside for this purpose.

Scholten praised the residents of Limburg for the self-resilience they showed in the past days. "Many people were taken in by friends and family. Nobody in the municipality of Venlo had to sleep on a camp bed," he said.

The fundraiser for the victims of the floods was launched on Friday and raised over 5 million euros by Monday morning. About 105 thousand people each donated an average of 47 euros, the National Disaster Fund said. The money will be used to support citizens' initiatives aimed at "alleviating local needs, once the mud is shoveled away".

"The support from the country is enormous and overwhelmed us," fund chairman Clemence Ross-van Dorp said to RTL Nieuws. "The images that are coming in make clear the extent of the suffering this flooding is causing. We are increasingly aware that this will have a major aftermath for people in the affected areas, including mentally."