Strong winds have put paid to traditional carnival parades in much of the south of the country as the KNMI weather bureau issues a code yellow alert.

A fireworks show to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Amsterdam has also been called off because of the weather warning. The event should have taken place on the roof of the Krasnapolsky hotel in the heart of the old city.

The organisers of Monday’s carnival parades in Den Bosch and Breda cancelled the events on Monday morning because of the strong winds forecast for the afternoon.

In Roosendaal a special funfair for children has been scrapped and parades in a number of other towns and villages in Limburg and Brabant will not go ahead either. Roermond town council decided at the weekend to cancel the parade because of the expected wind.

Risks

Safety experts say it would be irresponsible to risk people becoming injured by parade decorations or floats toppling over.

In addition, panic could break out in narrow village streets if part of a float breaks off, the Midden en West-Brabant safety body VRMWB said.

The KMNI issued a code yellow weather warning for all but the far east of the country on Sunday, warning that strong winds of up to 110 kph could batter the coast. The wind will be accompanied by heavy rain.

Carnival parades have also been cancelled in Germany because of the weather.

Carnaval runs until February 9 – the day before Ash Wednesday – and is mainly celebrated in the south of the Netherlands.