Calm after the storm: Dutch growerws waiting for new glass

It has been nearly two months since the storm in Southeast Brabant caused havoc. You probably haven’t forgotten it: a so-called supercell, a cloudburst accompanied by strong winds, rain and hail passed over the area and caused millions of damage in agriculture, to cars and houses and, of course, to greenhouses. Time to check back: how are the repairs going?

Wim van den Boomen of growers association ZLTO can be brief about it: "The glass has been cleaned up practically everywhere. Now we are waiting for the glass companies. The glass is arriving, but there’s still not enough for everyone. That's bit of a concern and a bit annoying, but not a disaster. It’s on its way, it's a question of inventory and planning."

In other words, there seems to be some degree of resignation. In terms of claims handling and insurance technical issues most people know where they stand and that getting things back on track tomorrow is unrealistic. "But people have moved past the shock and aren’t moping around anymore. Now it’s important to determine the right order of things to make a good start next season."

In total some 200 hectares of glass were destroyed. To what extent this resulted in the loss of jobs is still unclear, but in practice entrepreneurs have been able to maintain most permanent workers. After all, some considerable cleanup needed to be done and the repairs are far from over. For part-timers, the situation is often less rosy, Van den Boomen knows, but in that area turnover also has largely 'been neatly resolved'.