A woman died due to a falling tree, highways were closed and hundreds of flights were cancelled

In the Netherlands, code red was announced this morning for the provinces of North Holland, Flevoland, Friesland and the IJsselmeer region. Severe Weather Alert warns of a weather condition that can cause so much damage, injury, and inconvenience that it can be socially destructive. Storm Polly was the first “very severe storm” measured during the summer months, making it the deadliest in the Netherlands.

At around 12:30 p.m., the Dutch meteorological service KNMI reported that the red symbol in the north of the country had weakened to orange.

A woman died in Harlem

Reports of damage were received from various places. In Harlem, for example, trees were uprooted and fell on homes. Several cars in the city were also buried under fallen trees. A 51-year-old woman was released and resuscitated, but later died in hospital.

Also in Amsterdam, two people were injured in two separate incidents when a tree fell on their car. One of the injured was taken to hospital. The other was freed by firefighters. Amsterdam police are receiving “a large number of reports” of dozens of fallen trees and storm damage. A tree also fell on a bus and on a boat on Nieuwe Keizersgracht. As far as is known, no one was injured.

The storm is currently moving over Friesland. Polly leaves the Netherlands at the end of the afternoon in the direction of Denmark.

Trains stopped moving

Dutch railway company NS suspended trains in North Holland and Flevoland from 8.30 am due to the storm. According to Dutch Railways, the storm is “much heavier than expected” which is why NS has taken extra measures, the website said.

The Eurostar between Amsterdam and London has also been cancelled. Passengers who have booked a ticket for these international trains can cancel or rebook their journey for free, says NS. International trains run to Brussels and Paris, but depart from Rotterdam instead of Amsterdam. NS International stresses that travelers should take cancellations and delays into consideration.

Trains from Amersfoort, Zwolle, Groningen and Leeuwarden have also been suspended since 9:30 am. It is not known how long this situation will last everywhere. Stopped trains may not run at all today. In Amsterdam, all public transport has been cancelled.

400 flights have been cancelled

The storm also has consequences for air traffic. More than 400 flights have been canceled at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. According to the spokeswoman, the number of cancellations amounts to a fifth of all flights scheduled in Schiphol for the entire Wednesday. She also says that the situation is monitored throughout the day.

Schiphol has already announced on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday that it is difficult to travel to and from the airport between 9 am and 3 pm.

Several Dutch highways were closed due to the storm. These include closures on the A9, A6 and A10. Trees were broken in several places, and two trucks were knocked down by the high winds.

Many Dutch schools are closed today due to the storm. Children must stay at home.

Code yellow in Flanders

In many places in Flanders, wind gusts of up to 70 km/h are possible, as a result of which the Republic of the Marshall Islands declared the code yellow. The warning has also been extended to 9pm tonight in all Flemish provinces, except Flemish Brabant. Code yellow also applies to Liège. Earlier, the emergency number 1722 was also activated due to the risk of storm or flooding.

Mercury never rises higher than 15 to 20 degrees, RMI reports. Wednesday evening, still a few possible showers here and there, but gradually it will dry all over and be a little cloudy to clear. The lows fluctuate between 7 and 12 degrees in moderate winds.