Very heavy rain in much of Holland leads to floods, traffic disruption

The KNMI weather bureau issued a code orange weather warning for much of the country as up to 15 centimetres of rain fell in some places.

Police and fire officials received so many calls they urged the public only to ring the emergency 112 number in cases where lives were at risk.

In the north-east of the country, however, it remained dry with sunny spells.

Cellars

The main problems with flooding were in Noord and Zuid Holland, where council staff were out in force to keep drains clear.

In Alphen aan den Rijn, where over 15 centimetres of rain fell in less than 24 hours, streets were closed off after a dyke threatened to break and locals formed a chain to help stack up sandbags to keep the water at bay.

Parts of the Amsterdam A10 ring road were closed because of the heavy rain.

Some lanes of the A15 were also closed as was the Velser tunnel, leading to long delays and jams.

Public transport

In Amsterdam there were reduced tram services. Both the Amsterdam central station metro and the Zuidas train station had to deal with flooding.

Train services between Tilburg and Den Bosch were also halted after a lightning strike.

Flights to and from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport were delayed and the airport was closed for almost two hours because it was considered too dangerous for staff to work outside.

European flights were particularly badly affected.