Because of the flooding, thousands of people in the Netherlands had to leave their homes in the south of the country on Friday and go to safety.

Among other things, the city of Venlo with around 100,000 inhabitants is affected by floods.

A large part of the city should be evacuated in the evening, the administration announced.

Previously, families in the town of Meerssen and the surrounding area had to leave their homes due to a dike breach.

Emergency services warned that the water masses threatened to flood several villages.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte declared the flood in the province of Limburg in the south of the country to be a national disaster.

Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers tried to strengthen levees and move residents away.

In the municipality of Valkenburg, which is near the German and Belgian borders, the city center was flooded.

A number of nursing homes had to be evacuated and at least one bridge was destroyed.

According to local authorities, the rivers Maas and Rur had already reached record levels on Thursday.

The floods in western Germany caused by heavy rain killed more than 100 people.