Violent storms hit the extreme south of the province of Luxembourg during the night from Saturday to Sunday. The Luxembourg emergency zone recorded, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., around 400 calls for flooded ground floors, cellars and streets, mainly in Aubange and Athus, to a lesser extent in the municipalities of Messancy, Arlon , Musson and Virton.
A crisis center at city hall
Significant resources have been committed. The firefighters of southern Luxembourg received support from the Marche-en-Famenne, Bastogne, Bouillon, Neufchâteau and Etalle stations. A crisis center has been set up at Aubange town hall. “Very violent thunderstorms broke out between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.explains François Kinard, mayor of Aubange. A large amount of water fell in a short time. The drainage network was quickly saturated. Ground floors, cellars and streets were flooded. More than 250 requests for intervention were recorded and, given the scale of the task, the municipal emergency phase was triggered. In July 2021, the municipality had already been affected, but not in the same way.”
A crisis center has been set up at Aubange town hall. “The emergency phase, activated with the agreement of the governor, makes it possible to coordinate the means implementedcontinues the mayor of Aubange. The crisis unit was made up of firefighters, represented by Antoine Gillardin, the police, psychological and logistical support as well as municipal representatives. Decision was made to prohibit traffic in flooded streets. The police went to the scene to block the roads which represented a danger for motorists.
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Civil protection arrives when it’s over
Many vehicles were immobilized in the flooded streets, in some places, by a meter of water, fuel tanks overturned, high voltage cabins had to be secured. “The water receded fairly quickly and the emergency phase, activated at 10:45 p.m., was lifted around 2:30 a.m.further specifies François Kinard. I had asked the civil protection to come to the scene but when these reinforcements arrived from Crisnée, two hours later, the water had receded. The material damage would probably have been less significant if the civil protection had intervened quickly. It has, in fact, efficient pumping equipment. We have all noted the need to have a civil protection branch in the province of Luxembourg.”
No injuries to report
Firefighters rescued people trapped by the water. However, no injuries were reported. The room that the City of Aubange was preparing to make available to people to be rehoused was not used. On its Facebook page, the City invites people who cannot continue to occupy their accommodation, to access toilets or who need psychological help to come forward on Messenger. If citizens have any doubts about the potability of the water, they can contact the SWDE on 087/87 87 87.
