Flooding expected in Gelderland, Leerdam as well as other Dutch floodplains

The Rivierenland Water Board expects flooding over the weekend due to heavy rainfall west of the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. Especially in Leerdam and in the Gelderland town of Geldermalsen, water may enter basements, barns and houses on Saturday. The water runoff to and from de Linge river is dosed as much as possible. However, the water board Hoogheemraadschap De Stichtse Rijnlanden has installed a pump in Woerden to prevent flooding there.

Starting Saturday, the floodplains of the Rhine, Waal and IJssel will be inundated, Rijkswaterstaat said. Conservationists, farmers and municipalities were warned earlier this week to remove livestock and loose objects along the rivers. Low-lying quays such as the Waalkade in Nijmegen will also be closed from Friday due to high water.

Furthermore, the discharge of the Meuse River at Sint Pieter (below Maastricht) is expected to reach its highest level on Sunday. At that time, the rain stream discharges about 1,400 cubic meters of water per second.

From Tuesday, the water level of the river will decrease again, Rijkswaterstaat announced on Friday. The service does not expect major flooding problems, but the Meuse will overflow its banks in some places. Waterschap Limburg is keeping a particularly close eye on the situation on the Geul.

Friesland and Zeeland are also greatly affected by the very strong wind in addition to heavy rainfall. This pushes the water in the overflowing ditches and waterways even higher. According to the authorities, all pumping stations are working at full capacity, but this can not completely prevent the flooding.

On Friday, Rijkswaterstaat could not yet say when the Rhine will peak at Lobith. It will be sometime next week, but depends on how much rain actually falls in the watershed of Switzerland. It is expected that the Rhine will not rise more than 15 meters above NAP at Lobith. Only at this point will the water authority speak of flooding. However, inland water transport will be warned next week, as the water level of the Waal, the most important shipping route in the Netherlands, has risen, reducing passage times under bridges.

However, many water boards have been using extra pumps and bailers since Thursday to drain the large amounts of rainfall from the polders. Some dike roads were closed because of flooding or to build a pump.