sandbag

Weeds poked up from neglected garden beds and dozens of orange sandbags sat on ledges and columns, for no apparent reason.

Large sandbags protect critical infrastructure, some riddled with holes from shrapnel.

A twin-prop Chinook helicopter shatters the calm of the Dutch countryside, hovering just metres from a canal before dumping four huge sandbags into the water: welcome to Operation Cloudburst.

She remembers spending hours that day filling sandbags for neighbours to take home and protect their properties.

"We have sandbags around the doors and we have tied down the shutters to protect the windows."