A tornado was killed and several wounded in the Dutch province of Zealand

At least one person was killed and several others were injured in a rare tornado that struck the Dutch city of Zeriksee on Monday afternoon.

A 73-year-old man died after a tornado struck the city of the Netherlands

While much of the Netherlands was hit by heavy rains and thunderstorms on Monday, more extreme weather was observed in the southern province of Zealand on Monday afternoon. At around 2.30pm on 27 June a tornado with wind speeds of 179 to 218 kilometers per hour flew through Shawen-Duyvland, a municipality about 50 kilometers south of Rotterdam.

The tornado caused extensive damage to hundreds of homes in the local area, ripping off the roofs of a number of homes and several shingles from the roof of a local church. Police say a 73-year-old woman was fatally injured from a blow to the head with a tile. Another eight people received minor injuries, one was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Witnesses said the tornado managed to wreak havoc in minutes, and local mayor Jack van der Hook added that emergency services were making every effort to repair all the damage. “Today in the afternoon Zeriksee suddenly fell with a very strong gust of wind … On behalf of the municipal council I express my condolences to all those who suffered from this,” he told the press on Monday.

One to three tornadoes in the Netherlands each year

Although a tornado is something you associate more with the United States than with northern Europe, it is certainly not the first – or largest – tornado in the Netherlands. As a rule, in the Netherlands one to three mini-tornadoes break out every year.

One of the deadliest tornadoes in the Netherlands occurred back in 1967, killing seven people and injuring dozens. Another particularly dangerous tornado struck Omeland in August 1992, and a few years ago, in August 2019, a weak tornado caused minimal damage in Amsterdam.