Strong winds damaged a building on the Val Benoît site in Liège on Wednesday evening, we learned from the Liège police.
Due to the violent winds which blew on the Cité ardente on Wednesday evening, protective elements intended to block the windows of a building under renovation at the Val Benoît site, rue Ernest Solvay, became detached from the facade.
The incident caused damage to several vehicles.
For safety reasons, rue Ernest Solvay was closed between the Stévart and Tilleul roundabouts.
Quai Banning is also closed at the start of Quai de Rome and the Val-Benoît roundabout.
The Val Benoît exit from the Cointe tunnel towards the Ardennes is also closed.
Liège police officers are on site to organize diversions while waiting for the site to be completely secured.
Around thirty interventions by firefighters in Brussels
Due to bad weather in the capital, Brussels firefighters had to carry out 32 interventions following gusts of wind, said spokesperson Walter Derieuw on Wednesday evening.
A dozen interventions involved falling trees and branches. Around twenty other interventions concerned various objects, such as tiles, cornices, or cables, which were tossed around by the wind, described the spokesperson.
A first storm of the year is already sweeping Belgian territory on New Year’s Day, confirmed meteorologist David Dehenauw of the Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM).
The IRM warned of strong winds on New Year’s Day. On the coast, a yellow alert for gusty winds is in effect. Gusts of up to 75 km/h, or locally a little more, are expected in the interior.
The Netherlands also experienced its first storm of the year. This is the first storm observed in the country on New Year’s Day in 30 years.
weather wind damage Liège
