The Storm

Yesterday the worst July storm in recorded history stuck the Netherlands. Flights were delayed, trams and trains stopped running, wind reached up to 121 kmh knocking over trees and killing a motorist.

In the middle of this I was stuck in Amsterdam, walking 8km through the rain and wind to the closest station and eventually getting stuck for 6 hours in what I can only imagine the first week of the zombie apocalypse looks like.

Inaction, lack of communication, and bad planning contributed to this misadventure. Meteorologists predicted this storm, although it may have been worse that expected it did not come as a shock, but we were not prepared.

Amsterdam has a lot of old trees, and very responsibly the employ people to monitor the greenery so if a tree gets a fungus or diseases that weakens the wood to the point it would be dangerous it will be cut down. At least in theory. A friend of a friend is one of the people tasked with advising on the trees. When he picked out 4 trees that needed to be removed immediately, he was told they didn’t have any workers available within the next two days. I don’t know if these are the same trees that actually fell, but this kind of inaction by the local government and city council is practically a Dutch trademark.

For another example last winter was particularly rough but the roads and sidewalks in my city (not Amsterdam) were not salted because the local council didn’t buy enough salt, and didn’t budget to get more when the weather turned out more snowy than expected. We are a rich country, they could have found the budget for salt if they had prioritised safety.

Lack of communication was appalling, throughout the day the rail service website inaccurately reported train disruption. Central station was a mob of cold, wet, angry locals and tourists unable to move. Unsure if they would have a bed to sleep in that night. A recorded announcement said that ‘few trains are travelling at this time, please wait for updates.´ Rail staff were harassed and as ill informed as the rest of us. I didn’t see any additional support for them or for us. I realise that weather can and will disrupt traffic, but in an event of this proportion I would expect them to mobilise to provide tea/coffee, set up a bus route, and make the toilets free (yep, they charge you to go to the toilet in the Amsterdam). This is VERY basic disaster response and again, in a country as economically well off as the Netherlands I DO expect this. I DO think it should be made available by the 44% taxes and high prices I pay for…everything.

(I want to note that many people and NGO's in NL go above and beyond to contribute to society, my frustration here is directed and the government and big business, the two-headed hydra.)

I am angry, I know we can do better, I know we can care for each other better — but the hold up always seems to revolve around bureaucracy and budget. There are too many comfy government workers incapable of making a decision, lacking in passion for their job or their people.

You can't plan the weather, but you can plan a response. I know that in event of a national emergency the people entrusted with helping us will not help. I have known this for quite some time but yesterday was another strong reminder. Currently I am sitting in my bed with fever that was bound to come after 6 hours sitting wet in a train station, but grateful that I did finally make it home and wondering about the people and families from around the world that I left behind at the station.