In Veldhoven, the police called on people to avoid the area around the Dorpstraat for some time, but in the other places they are also advised to stay indoors “if possible.” People who do have to go outside are asked to be careful.
The Brabant-Zuidoost Safety Region warns of dangerous situations due to heavy rain showers, such as manhole covers that can wash away due to the abundance of water. “Be aware of this when you go outside.”
Limburg also has to deal with flooding. Images on social media show how streets in Echt and Roermond are flooded.
According to Weerplaza, more than 30 millimeters of rain had already fallen in some places in the south around 6.45 pm on Sunday evening. Locally it is even 70 millimeters. That is more than the amount of precipitation that normally falls throughout the month of June. Moreover, according to Weer.nl, never before has so much precipitation been measured in one day at the KNMI station in Eindhoven as on Sunday. In total, 48 millimeters of precipitation fell until about 8.45 pm. The old record was on August 28, 1996, when 47.1 millimeters fell. In total there were only seven days in Eindhoven when more than 40 millimeters of precipitation fell.
Rijkswaterstaat reports that several highways in Brabant and Limburg are also affected by the flooding. As a result, some lanes are closed. These include the A2 at junction Vught, the A50 at Nistelrode and the A59 at Rosmalen. Motorists should expect some delays.
The KNMI issued a code yellow for all of the Netherlands on Sunday due to thunderstorms. The showers will move from south to north across the country and a lot of precipitation can fall. Code yellow no longer applies to the province of Zeeland.
Second wettest Pentecost day ever
De Bilt has had the second wettest Whitsun Day ever. On Sunday, according to Weeronline, 21.5 millimeters of rain fell. Since the start of the precipitation measurements in 1906, it has only happened on May 20, 1945 that more precipitation fell on Whit Monday: 23.3 millimeters at the time.
It was much wetter than in De Bilt on Sunday in the south of the country. In the Betuwe and in a wide strip from Eindhoven to Den Bosch, 40 to 60 millimeters fell in many places. For comparison: normally about 68 millimeters falls in the whole month of June.
Car and train traffic in Belgium interrupted by flooding
In the meantime, heavy rainfall in Belgium has halted train traffic in several places, rail manager Infrabel reports. For example, train traffic was interrupted between Hasselt and Tongeren and between Landen and Ezemaal.
The heavy rain showers also caused problems for motorists. For example, at the Lummen junction in the province of Limburg, the exit to Heerlen in the Netherlands was closed for a while.
Parts of the municipality of Landen, in the east of Flemish Brabant, were flooded, such as the station. An apartment complex in Binche, further south, had to be evacuated due to a lightning strike. The fire brigade had to be called out hundreds of times in certain areas, especially for uprooted trees and flooded roads and cellars.