The residents of the apartment building on the Rijnmond are shocked. They are also surprised. “You don’t expect this with wind force seven,” says an elderly man who is on his way to Zee en Duin with his wife. “It got dark for a while and then we sat outside,” the resident of the top floor describes the event.
Text continues below the photo.
It is shortly after half past eleven when the south-westerly storm lifts the bitumen roof of the seventy-year-old residential building over a length of thirty meters and blows it away. The asphalt strips hang over the roof edge on the sea side. At the back of the building, it can be seen that the gust of wind has grabbed a skylight and propped it up.
Mayor
“How bad,” says Mayor Cornelis Visser to residents who are accompanied to the hotel by an agent. Visser comes to take a look and is just as surprised as the residents by the dramatic event. “This building has been there for seventy years. The roof was checked last year and then the anchors were renewed,” he says.
The fire brigade is present en masse and has cordoned off the wide surroundings of the building with red and white ribbons. A command post will be set up on the Boulevard across the street. Cars in front of the affected building must be removed.
‘Could get worse’
Furthermore, the emergency services can do relatively little, says spokesman Ton Koot of the fire brigade. “Four houses have daylight in the house, the roof covering is completely gone. And it could get worse, as this afternoon the wind will turn to the northwest and become even stronger. It will not be possible to close the whole thing under these circumstances. Just find a company that wants to get on the roof with this storm.”
Text continues below the photo.