July storm causes 13 mln euros worth of damage in Netherlands

The storm with gusts well over 100 km per hour that hit the Netherlands Saturday has caused an estimated 13 million euros (14.4 million U.S. dollars) worth of damage, the Dutch Association of Insurers stated on Monday.

The damage is mostly caused to buildings, contents and vehicles of individuals and businesses. In addition, vacationers, especially in the coastal regions, were hit, according to a first inventory of the Association of Insurers.

Damage to agriculture and public property was not calculated in this first estimate and damage amounts on canceled events are not yet known as well, but will make the total amount increase.

The Association also expects much delayed claims, because many Dutch people are currently on vacation and will later contact their insurer.

Especially the western and northern Netherlands were hit hard. In the city regions of Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam, fallen trees, flying branches, roof tiles and debris caused damage.

The summer storm caused the death of one person and injured some others, mainly due to fallen trees. In Wolfheze, near Arnhem in the province of Gelderland, a man was killed when a tree fell on his car. In Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Apeldoorn, several people were wounded by fallen trees.

The Netherlands experienced the most severe July storm since it had such records in 1901, weather institute weeronline stated, with occasional gusts of 110 to 120 km per hour. This also had much impact on traffic, with fallen trees blocking roads and rail traffic in much of the west of the country.

The July storm is the third major storm in the Netherlands this year. In January, storm caused an estimated loss of several million euros and in late March a spring storm led to around 10 million euros of damage. The Association stated that storm damage in the Netherlands on average per year is a total of 50 million euros. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars) Endit