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2 February 2004
AMSTERDAM — Wild weather on the weekend claimed the life of a male motorist in a freak accident when a tree fell on his car, while police received dozens of storm damage reports, especially in the west of the country on Saturday night.
The 58-year-old victim, from Oisterwijk, lost control of his vehicle on Saturday night after the uprooted tree hit his car. He subsequently collided with another tree and was killed instantly.
The accident occurred on the Oisterwijkseweg in the Brabant town of Oisterwijk and the 55-year-old wife of the deceased driver was severely injured in the accident, news agency ANP reported.
The south-westerly storm swept across the Netherlands late on Saturday night as wind speeds between 110-120kmh were recorded. Weather bureau KNMI said the strongest wind gusts were recorded along the coast.
But all areas of the Netherlands recorded strong winds after the storm moved in from the south-west and crossed to the north-east of the country in just four hours.
KNMI had earlier warned for the approaching storm, urging people to be wary of “flying objects”. The weather bureau denied it had been late in issuing its warning, saying the strength of the storm intensified on Saturday night. At about 1.45am on Sunday, the weather warning was withdrawn
Problems were especially reported on Saturday night in the west of the country as police and fire brigade authorities were kept busy in The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam with fallen trees, broken branches and damaged roofs. One person was injured in Utrecht when a large branch fell from a tree.
Fire brigade authorities were also kept busy throughout the night in Groningen in the north of the country as they responded to more than 30 reports of damages.
The storm also dislodged a house roof in Heerenveen, as Friesland police responded to dozens of fallen trees and storm damage reports, an NOS news report said.
A spokesman for the national police force KLPD said officers also responded to several dozen minor traffic accidents across the Netherlands. He also noted that seven accidents involved cars with caravans or trailers.
“A right-thinking person does not take to the road in these sorts of weather conditions,” the spokesman said.
The A28 motorway at Nijkerk was blocked after parts pf a service station roof were blown onto the road, while a provincial road near Apeldoorn was closed for several hours due to concerns that trees might be blown over.
Trains were delayed several hours between Zaandam and Uitgeest, at Pijnacker and between Waddinxveen and Boskoop after uprooted trees and other objects fell across railway lines. Most train lines returned to their normal schedule shortly before midnight.
But continued problems were reported on Sunday as the storm blew itself out. Delays occurred on the line between Lelystad and Almere as work was carried out to remove parts of the Almere train station roof which had blown loose, while a train collided with a fallen tree at Nuth, near Heerlen.
[Copyright Expatica News 2004]
Subject: Dutch news