Wicked-strong storm beats the Netherlands with 90 mph wind gusts

A powerful storm brought deadly winds and snow to the Netherlands Jan. 18. In Rotterdam, residents faced winds of up to 75 mph. (The Washington Post)

A powerful storm with extreme winds blew in from the North Sea this week. It slammed into the Netherlands, tearing off roofs, toppling trees and prompting flight cancellations and havoc at the airports. The storm flipped trucks and rail service was suspended. Then it moved on to Germany, where authorities declared it the worst storm since 2007.

In an unprecedented move, all five storm surge gates were closed in the Netherlands by the country’s infrastructure agency. These massive movable barriers prevent water from the North Sea from surging up rivers and inundating vulnerable areas. Much of the Netherlands lies below sea level. The gates were built in response to a flood that killed almost 2,000 people in 1953.

The closure of the gates disrupted shipping traffic in and out of Rotterdam, the busiest port in Europe. Gale-force winds tipped stacks of empty shipping containers like they were toys.

Gusts of nearly 90 mph caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights at Amsterdam’s bustling Schiphol airport, according to the Associated Press. The high speed train Thayls, which connects Amsterdam to Paris, was temporarily suspended due to electrical wires being down and debris on the tracks.

#Storm bij het Strijkijzer pic.twitter.com/6M8ukNmir9

— Arnout Vos (@arnoutvos) January 18, 2018

Ferry service across the Netherlands was halted. People wanting to get from Texel in the Frisian Islands, to the mainland, were forced to wait out the wind and massive waves.

Several people were killed by falling trees. A 62-year-old man died in the town of Olst when he was hit in the face with a large branch after he got out of his vehicle to clear debris from the road. A second death occurred when a tree killed the driver of a car in Enschede, near the German border. Terrifying videos posted online show people being blown through plazas like tumbleweeds and bikes being ripped from cyclists’ hands.

In Belgium, a code orange, the second-highest storm warning, was in effect yesterday. The port of Ghent was closed and tram traffic in the capital of Brussels was suspended. Several public parks were closed because of fears of falling trees.

It was the worst storm to hit Germany in just over a decade. There were widespread disruptions to all forms of travel. Dozens of flights were cancelled in Dusseldorf and all long-distance train service across the country was suspended.

The storm produced the strongest winds in the mountains and was accompanied with heavy snow. In the Bavarian Alps, a World Cup ski event was suspended as winds howled up to 126 miles per hour on the peaks.

Authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany say it will be several days before things get back to normal.

People push their bikes through fierce winds in Rotterdam. (Robin Utrecht/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

People walking in the strong winds on the beach of Hoek van Holland on Thursday. (Robin Utrecht/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

A truck and a damaged car after the strong winds of the western storm in Kampen, Netherlands, on Thursday. (Ginopress B.V./EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

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