Extreme weather caused €280 million in damages in Netherlands last year
Last year, extreme weather like lightning strikes, hail, and storms caused 280 million euros in damages in the Netherlands. The damage to homes and cars caused by heavy rainfall alone amounted to over 100 million euros, RTL Nieuws reported from the Dutch Association of Insurers’ annual Climate Damage Monitor.
The biggest cost item last year was a heavy downpour in Enschede in July 2024. Dozens of families had to leave their homes due to water damage. Their homes have been declared uninhabitable.
According to the insurers, the Dutch government must pay more attention to the risk of extreme weather. “We need to start thinking about how we are going to build and how we are going to live in the future. And in my opinion, the current Cacinet, but certainly also the new Cabinet, should establish more rules for this in the building decree. This can be done for new construction, and it can also be done for renovations of existing homes,” said association director Richard Weurding.
“If you look at all the years that we have in our monitor, then 2024 was relatively calm. But you do see over the years that the peaks are getting higher and higher and that the damage is getting worse due to, among other things, the changing climate,” Weurding said.
The Dutch Association of Insurers has published the Climate Damage Monitor every year since 2007. The damage amounts were much higher in the years 2018 to 2023. The highest amount was paid out in 2022 at 933 million euros. In that year, the Netherlands was hit by three storms in a row.
This year so far has also been characterized by extremes. The year started with a lot of rain, and then drought in the spring.
The insurers stress that people can do a lot themselves to prevent damage from extreme weather. Close your windows, keep your gutters clean, and store garden equipment in the shed when a storm is coming. “Many people do not know what they can do in extreme weather. It helps if you know what the climate risks are for the area where you live,” Weurding said. Area-specific information can be found on the websites overstroomik.nl and klimaateffectatlas.nl.
