Severe overnight storms and lightning strikes caused widespread track obstructions, fires, and injuries across the Netherlands on June 28, 2026, prompting emergency services to deploy additional resources to handle the surge of distress calls.
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) lifted its nationwide Code Orange warning for severe thunderstorms at 5:36 a.
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m. on Sunday after the system moved through the region.
However, a Code Yellow warning remains active for all provinces due to a persistent heatwave.
Lightning strikes crippled infrastructure in the Utrecht region, suspending services on lines connecting Utrecht to Rotterdam, Den Haag, and Gouda until Sunday afternoon, according to Dutch rail operator NS and regional authorities.
In the north, power failures and signaling issues disrupted the Groningen Europapark–Leeuwarden and Zwolle–Groningen routes.
International trains on the Arnhem–Duisburg–Düsseldorf line faced restrictions until midnight Monday.
Emergency dispatch centers in multiple safety regions were overwhelmed by flooding and fire reports.
In Landsmeer, crews rescued one resident from an attic fire caused by a direct lightning strike around 2 a.
m.
In Toornwerd, Groningen, lightning ignited a barn fire that killed two calves, though firefighters saved an adjacent structure housing 150 cows.
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Property damage was reported nationwide, including a major thatched-roof fire in Snelrewaard and a collapsed roof on a haystack in Boskoop.
In Veldhoven, powerful wind gusts reaching 90 kph in nearby Eindhoven tore the cap and sails off a historic 1858 windmill, damaging neighboring houses and vehicles.
