Residents are requested to seek shelter from family and friends outside the neighborhood. For those who do not succeed, childcare is arranged at school De Rietlanden. The municipality is afraid to give an estimate of the number of houses that have now been vacated.
‘Strange, penetrating air’
Earlier in the day, some of the residents of the neighborhood were allowed to return home after being evacuated. About 500 people had to leave their homes last night because of a ‘strange, penetrating’ smell. At first it was thought that it was gas, but the air appeared to come from a ‘gasoline-like’ substance from the sewer.
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It is not yet clear what kind of substance it is and how it ended up in the sewer. Since last night, the fire brigade has been pumping and flushing the sewage system. Measurements are also carried out. The values of the as yet unknown substance are declining, according to the fire brigade.
Brown water
The pumping station through which the substance probably ended up in a sewer again had been started up to pump sewage water elsewhere from the district directly to the wastewater treatment plant. The substance may have ended up in the water via overflow.
People who do not have to leave their house, but do suffer from bad smells and brown water from the pipes, are advised to open the taps for a while. It also helps to flush the toilet and ventilate the room, the municipality says.
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