It looked like an Amsterdam canal this morning: the Kerkstraat in Bergen aan Zee. Due to the heavy rainfall in recent months, the water level in the adjacent dune area is so high that after every new shower, the excess water sinks to the lowest part: the Kerkstraat. That has been causing wet feet for a long time.
Residents of Kerkstraat in the coastal village have been experiencing flooding for about two weeks. But they have never seen it as bad as this morning. That is striking; Yesterday all the water had just been removed with a tanker truck.
“If you can skate here, I will provide a cake and snack tent”
“Something like this happens once every hundred years,” says resident Jan Boorsma as he walks towards his car. “Normally the rainwater is absorbed in the dunes, but because it has rained so much in recent months, the water level is so high that it runs to the lowest point. That is our street.”
Toilet papers
It is not the first time that the picturesque street suffers from excess water, but it usually subsides after a few days. “I have lived here since 2017,” Jan continues. “And we have never experienced it for so long. However, the water sometimes rises here after heavy rainfall. Once even the sewer could not cope. After the water dried up, the street was littered with papers from the toilet.”
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Flooding in Kerkstraat Bergen aan Zee – NH News
Jan sees the positive side of the water and is already thinking if it will freeze next weekend. “This is the first place in the Netherlands where you can skate, which is unique. And then I will provide a cake and drink tent.”
It probably won’t get that far. The municipality decides to switch to a rigorous measure and calls in the fire brigade. It comes with a special pump and a hose of up to 1500 meters. They place the pump in the deepest point of the water. They take the other side of the hose to the beach, about 300 meters away. In just over two hours, one and a half million liters of water are pumped into the sea.
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Flooding Bergen aan Zee
Flooding Bergen aan Zee
Flooding Bergen aan Zee
Flooding Bergen aan Zee
Flooding Bergen aan Zee
Let’s hope that they keep their feet dry in Kerkstraat, but they are not completely confident about that. “The water level in the dunes is still high,” says Jan. “If it starts to rain, it will fill up again. I’m not sure about it yet.”
Read below articles about the Church in the Kerkstraat, where they also suffer considerably from the high water.
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