A second person has died after being hit by a tree brought down in the severe autumn gales which swept through the Netherlands on Monday.

The man from Veenendaal was hit by a broken branch while out cycling and died from his injuries in hospital in Utrecht. Earlier, a 21-year-old woman, thought to be a tourist, was killed in central Amsterdam after she was hit by a falling tree.

At least 25 other people were injured in wind-related accidents, Nos television said.

In total, the emergency services were called out to deal with over 9,200 incidents. As well as falling trees and masonry, several gas leaks had to be dealt with, Nos said.

Insurance

Insurance companies are now beginning to calculate the cost of the storm. According to Interpolis, which had 3,500 claims by Monday evening, farmers and market gardeners have been particularly hard hit.

The Dutch insurers’ association expect damages claims to be around €95m. This would have been higher if the authorities had not warned the storm was on its way, the organisation said.

Meanwhile, Dutch railway firm NS said it services will be as normal as possible on Tuesday although there will still be some disruption. Large parts of the network were paralysed by fallen trees and power lines and all services around Amsterdam were stopped.

Monday’s gales were the strongest to hit the Netherlands since 1990. On the Wadden Sea island of Vlieland hurricance force 12 winds were recorded for around 20 miniutes.

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