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By 2:50 p.m., all five storm gates were closed, or in the process of closing. It is the first time they were all shut at the same time.
Strong winds and high seas in the Netherlands on Wednesday forced the closure of two storm surge barriers around Rotterdam and another in Zeeland. The Maeslantkering, said to be one of the three largest moving structures in the world, protects the second largest city in the Netherlands from flooding.
Scheduled for closure at 2:10 p.m., the Maeslantkering had not closed since a late night storm on November 8, 2007. That was the first time a storm triggered its closure since it went operational in an inauguration ceremony led by Queen Beatrix.
Meanwhile, the nine-kilometer Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland was closed for the first time in three years. Also the Hartelkering and HollandscheIJsselkering, both in Zuid-Holland, were expected to close respectively at 11:40 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., Rijkswaterstaat said. They protect some of the lowest lying parts of the Netherlands from water, the latter of the two being the first storm surge barrier built as part of the ambitious Delta Works water management plan of the mid 20th century. An update from the Dutch infrastructure management agency at 1:45 p.m. noted that the Hartelkering was still in a safe position and could be closed later in the day.
Throughout the country the storm was causing dangerous traffic situations with wind-swept debris and strong gusts. A tree blown over onto the A6 highway near Rutten at about 11:30 a.m. quickly brought emergency crews to the area. Two lanes on the A2 from Utrecht to Amsterdam were closed when a truck blew over. These are just two reports out of hundreds of storm damage notifications called into emergency services on Wednesday morning.
The fire department in the Utrecht region had already received 125 storm damage reports by late Wednesday morning.
Read more here. (Netherlands Times, NL Times)
Strong winds and high seas in the Netherlands on Wednesday forced the closure of two storm surge barriers around Rotterdam and another in Zeeland. The Maeslantkering, said to be one of the three largest moving structures in the world, protects the second largest city in the Netherlands from flooding.
Scheduled for closure at 2:10 p.m., the Maeslantkering had not closed since a late night storm on November 8, 2007. That was the first time a storm triggered its closure since it went operational in an inauguration ceremony led by Queen Beatrix.
Meanwhile, the nine-kilometer Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland was closed for the first time in three years. Also the Hartelkering and HollandscheIJsselkering, both in Zuid-Holland, were expected to close respectively at 11:40 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., Rijkswaterstaat said. They protect some of the lowest lying parts of the Netherlands from water, the latter of the two being the first storm surge barrier built as part of the ambitious Delta Works water management plan of the mid 20th century. An update from the Dutch infrastructure management agency at 1:45 p.m. noted that the Hartelkering was still in a safe position and could be closed later in the day.
Throughout the country the storm was causing dangerous traffic situations with wind-swept debris and strong gusts. A tree blown over onto the A6 highway near Rutten at about 11:30 a.m. quickly brought emergency crews to the area. Two lanes on the A2 from Utrecht to Amsterdam were closed when a truck blew over. These are just two reports out of hundreds of storm damage notifications called into emergency services on Wednesday morning.
The fire department in the Utrecht region had already received 125 storm damage reports by late Wednesday morning.
Read more here. (Netherlands Times, NL Times)
