Water authorities advise against playing in flooded areas

Water boards are advising against letting children or pets play in streets or other areas that have been flooded by high water levels. The water from rivers, streams, and ditches has not been purified. It can, therefore, be contaminated, according to the municipality of Hoorn, where the Visserseiland street has been under water for days.Hoorn has placed extra big bags on Visserseiland due to Rijkswaterstaat expecting a new high water peak in the Markermeer on Friday or Saturday.

The water levels on the IJsselmeer and the Markermeer remain very high because most of the water cannot be discharged into the Wadden Sea. Strong winds push up the water, while the major rivers supply more water to the lakes. This is because the water level of the rivers will rise again from Thursday.

The Rhine River at Lobith is expected to reach its highest level of approximately 14.50 meters above NAP on Sunday or Monday, comparable to the highest water level of last week. That flood takes several days to flow to the lakes and the sea.

Water boards in the east and north of the country are also seeing the level of rivers such as the Vecht, the Dinkel, and the Regge rising again. They are expecting flooding but no significant problems. The rivers are being filled with rain from the Netherlands and Germany but are not connected to the big rivers.

The water boards in Overijssel, Drenthe, Groningen, and Friesland have taken many measures and placed sandbags where necessary, like at a campsite on the Leekstermeer in Drenthe. Wetterskip Fryslân will decide on Thursday whether fourteen water storage areas will be used in the province.