The water level in the Maas river in Limburg is slowly going down after the weekend floods and the local water board says the situation is now under control.

In most places people who were evacuated as a precaution have been allowed to return to their homes and the clean-up operation has started. Nevertheless, the risk of flooding is not yet over and many dykes are saturated with water, the Waterschap Limburg said.

Sightseers are being urged to stay away from river banks and not to walk along the dykes. ‘Prevent damage and go and walk somewhere else,’ the security board said on its website.

Some €5m in donations has now been paid into the Giro 777 national disaster fund. The money will be used to pay for damages in exceptional cases not covered by insurance or the government.