Water levels continue to rise in Dutch rivers

High water in the river Waal near Nijmegen.

LOBITH–The water level in the river Rhine near the Dutch border with Germany was higher than expected on Tuesday as rain and melting snow from the Alps continued to swell the volume of water in Dutch rivers.

  The key water-level measurement at Lobith reached 14.52 meters above the normal water level in Amsterdam NAP on Tuesday morning, 30 centimetres higher than officials had predicted.


  NAP stands for Normaal Amsterdams Peil or the normal water level in Amsterdam, which is slightly lower than sea level. NAP is used as a base to measure how high or low water levels are. When the water level in the Rhine is high, it is described as a certain number of metres “above NAP.”

  If the water level reaches 15 metres above NAP, parts of Nijmegen will be flooded. During the last serious floods in the 1990s, the water level at Lobith reached 16 metres above NAP.

  Although officials say there is no danger of widespread flooding outside the flood plains, they have closed some dykes and extra inspections are taking place.

  The lowest point in the Netherlands, in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, in the province of South Holland, is 6.76 metres below NAP.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/72607-water-levels-continue-to-rise-in-dutch-rivers