The VU University’s teaching hospital in the south of Amsterdam is being completely evacuated after a broken water main led to serious flooding.

All patients who are bedridden are being transferred to other hospitals, the hospital’s director Wouter Bos told a news conference on Tuesday. According to the Parool, the hospital has some 339 patients, some of whom may also be discharged early.

The flooded areas include the hospital’s boiler room and water supplies cannot be guaranteed, Bos said. Some parts of the complex are without electricity because of short circuits and the lifts are being operated manually. The flooding has also affected several laboratories and the hospital morgue.

At least 30 ambulances were outside the hospital to take patients to other locations. A large number are being moved to the city’s other teaching hospital, the AMC. The first patients to be moved were children from the intensive care unit, broadcaster Nos says.

It will be several days before patients can be readmitted, Bos said. ‘The water has to be pumped out and all the equipment reinstalled,’ Bos said. The city’s water board Waternet and soldiers have been brought in to man the pumps.

The flood occurred during work on the water mains in the Van der Boechorststraat in Amsterdam-Zuid around 07.00. One source told DutchNews.nl the pipe was being moved as preparatory work for the massive Zuidasdok building project to widen the A10 motorway and improve capacity at the local train station.

The repairs are expected to take several days.

Commuters are being warned that the problems will have a serious impact on evening rush hour traffic around the city. Several lanes on the A10 and A4 have been closed for the evacuation and the S108 exit has been closed.

Onder begeleiding rijdt een grote ambulance weg van #VUmc . Naar een ander ziekenhuis, geen idee welk #rtvnh pic.twitter.com/Kn2FoNN4PT

— joris van de kerkhof (@jorisvdkerkhof) September 8, 2015

One of the largest hospitals in #netherlands evacuated due to broken waterworks service pipe. #vumc #Amsterdam pic.twitter.com/XKWvCcnTJM

— Ronaldo Wilbrink (@WXRonaldo) September 8, 2015