Beaches on the Wadden Sea islands of Ameland and Schiermonnikoog were cleared for a time on Thursday morning because of the presence of several offshore waterspouts.

‘In the morning there are only a few people on the beaches and they were told that bad weather was on its way and to take cover,’ a police spokesman told news agency ANP.

Waterspouts are formed when cold upper layers of air meet relatively warm sea water and the KNMI weather bureau said it was extremely rare to see several in such a short space of time.

Sailors were also warned to beware of the waterspouts. No damage or injuries were reported.

In 1972, four people were killed and over 100 injured when a whirlwind hit a campsite on Ameland.