The IRM, the Royal Meteorological Institute, has issued rain alerts for three Walloon provinces. The 1722 call number for non-urgent interventions has been activated.
From this Wednesday morning at 5 a.m., the yellow alert will be triggered in the provinces of Liège and Namur, since precipitation ranging from 25 to 50 liters per square meter is expected.
But the concerns are mainly on the side of the province of Luxembourg. In fact, it is the orange alert that is triggered. Up to 75 liters per square meter are expected and could fall within around 30 hours, which is considerable. For comparison, this represents two thirds, or even three quarters of what falls in the month of October on average.
We are not in a hurricane system
These rains will fall on soils already saturated with water, since we have been experiencing heavy rainfall for a year now. This is why meteorologists fear some risk of overflows, or even slight flooding. And moreover, the public service of Wallonia has already issued a pre-alert this evening. “Some rivers will be placed on pre-flood warning as a preventive measure from this evening. These are the basins of southern and eastern Wallonia. So, we cite the emblem, the vestre, the leash, the tributaries of the Haute Meuse, for example. The pre-alerts will mainly concern rivers which will overflow and flooded roads.“, indicates Stéphanie Ernoux, spokesperson for the regional crisis center.
She continues: “We also expect risks of runoff. Therefore, around fields that have just been plowed or freshly sown, there is also a risk of runoff and mudslides. It should actually be limited. We are in a classic depression system. So, we are not in a hurricane or ex-hurricane system either. It becomes a classic depression, even if it continues to be called Kirk, after the original hurricane.“
The 1722 call number for non-urgent interventions has been activated.
weather alert
