Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam, July 5, 2023 (ANP / Koen van Weel)
The Netherlands is hit by its strongest summer storm on record on Wednesday and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s main airports, has had hundreds of flights canceled due to road closures.
Fierce winds with speeds of up to 146 km/h blow across the country as storm Poly hits the North Sea coast, knocking down trees and prompting Dutch authorities to advise people to stay at home.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has warned that a combination of strong winds, rain and poor visibility will result in “very restricted air traffic” on both departures and arrivals, at least until 3pm (1pm GMT).
According to the public broadcaster NOS, more than 300 flights have been canceled at Schiphol Airport, one of the largest air hubs in Europe.
According to Dutch authorities, trains were stopped for safety reasons in the north of the country and a major motorway in Alkmaar near Amsterdam was closed after a truck accident.
The Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) has issued the highest alert level “Code Red” for four regions in the north of the country.
The government has sent out a mobile phone alert urging people in the province of North Holland, which includes the city of Amsterdam, to stay at home. It is recommended to call the overloaded emergency services only in life-threatening situations.
In the port of IJmuiden in North Holland, winds of force 11 were measured, the second highest on the Beaufort scale, “the strongest summer storm ever recorded” in the country, according to Dutch weather station Weerplaza.
A gust of 146 km/h measured in IJmuiden is also the strongest ever measured in summer in the Netherlands, according to this website, where the storm season usually lasts from October to April.
A tree felled by the storm in Haarlem west of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, July 5, 2023 ( ANP / Remko de Waal )
With around a third of its territory lying below sea level, the Netherlands is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events and the effects of climate change.
According to the National Meteorological Institute (KNMI), sea level rise is one of the most important consequences of global warming in the Netherlands.
On the night of January 31-February 1, 1953, a tidal wave caused by winds from a violent depression in the North Sea killed more than 2,500 people in the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom, including 1,836 Dutch people.