In Valkenburg, a group of 60 soldiers is helping to repair the water damage to streams and banks. It mainly concerns the removal of large branches and pieces of trees, to prevent blockages from forming.
After the flooding, a lot has to be done in and around the municipality of Valkenburg. Work is being done on the restoration of the center, but the nature along the Geul has also been dealt a major blow. The banks threaten to collapse and a lot of debris floats through the river.
During the high water threat, defense was also deployed to help strengthen dykes and evacuate municipalities. Now the battalion’s dozen men and women are busy with hatchets and chainsaws to break up a large log that stretches the width of the Geul.
‘Fighting the water and the trees’
“We have been working on this part for a whole day,” Bram Egelmeers, captain and commander of the group of soldiers, told 1Limburg. “But luckily this group is specialized in breaking through obstacles. Now we just don’t fight against an enemy, but against the water and the trees.”
The soldiers support the Limburg Water Board in restoring the Geul. “They have already helped us with the sandbags before, but we can also count on their help with this,” says Har Frenken of the water board. “We are very happy with that, because this is quite a job.”
According to Frenken, a lot of trees have ended up in the Geul and are now an obstacle. “If it starts to rain again, the flow is blocked and the area is flooded again. This is also dangerous for the well-being of local residents. “Because of the stagnant water, many fish and animals die in the Geul, which causes many bacteria.”
recovery plan
Clearing and cleaning up the Geul is the first phase of the Limburg Water Board’s recovery plan. Restoration of the banks follows next. “We are now tackling the most urgent matters, where the safety of citizens is at stake,” said Frenken. “Things that can wait, we will probably only get to that next year. Then you have to think of, for example, benches and trash cans that have been washed away.”
The military will be busy restoring the Geul for the rest of the week.
This is what the flood in Limburg looked like from the air:
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