:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/0c3d7248-e6e1-11eb-892b-02c309bc01c1.jpg "Beesel also calls for residents to be evacuated | Inland")
“Even though the water is not yet all the way to the top, there is already pressure on the dikes,” according to the municipality. “The pressure of so much water is great, and therefore there is always a chance that a dike can fail. And then the water quickly flows into the area.”
“So, if you’re still in the area, make sure you leave. And move cars that are still on the street further away. It is not an obligation, but it is a sensible choice for your own and other people’s safety,” is the message from the municipality. “We will probably only be able to see if the water level is going down and if the peak is over by the end of the evening.”
Haelen and Horn
The dyke in Horn, built with sandbags, has breached. The municipality has announced that it is taking the necessary measures. Further details are still lacking.
The power also went out on Roermondseweg in Horn. The municipality is consulting with grid operator Enexis about a solution.
Residents of parts of the Central Limburg villages of Haelen and Horn (municipality of Leudal) had to leave their homes immediately around 10.30 am on Saturday morning. It concerns residents of the Broekweg in Haelen and the Kemp in Horn, the municipality of Leudal reported at the time.
Everyone had to leave by 1:00 PM at the latest. Around that time, the municipality reported the dike breach.
Capricious
“The water behaves very erratic,” said chairman Antoin Scholten of the Limburg-North Safety Region on Saturday. According to him, many people have the impression that things will get better after the peak. But that high water will remain there for a longer period of time. That is why the North Limburg safety region and the Limburg Water Board will henceforth refer to an elongated high water plateau instead of a high water peak.
As a result of the high water wave persisting for a long time, the dikes are becoming saturated, which is a cause for concern for the water board and the security region. Seepage water can bubble up behind the saturated dikes. The shelf uses pumps in those places. In addition, there is now a rapid defense intervention team that can be deployed for vulnerable quays and dikes.
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Difficult situation
There is relief in Venlo, but people are not yet completely reassured: it seems that the flood defenses built in haste will hold, but the water is still rising. The Limburg city seems to have been spared situations such as in Valkenburg.
Nevertheless, the coming hours will be difficult for Venlo. The water level in Venlo is expected to be highest at 7 p.m. The peak will probably last two days, according to the security region.
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