The Kirk depression which will affect our country this Wednesday worries riverside residents. Fifteen are on pre-alert.
Belgium will be hit by the Kirk depression today: an ex-hurricane which will bring wind, but above all a lot of rain!
Up to 80 liters per square meter are expected in the next 24 hours in the province of Luxembourg.
Three provinces are placed on orange alert: Luxembourg, Liège and Namur. Yellow alert for Hainaut, Walloon Brabant and Brussels.
This morning, Florent Vanden Bergh was live from Bouillon, on the banks of the Semois. He noted that the level of the Semois was stable for the moment, but the river, on pre-alert, is subject to special monitoring. Locally, up to 100 liters of water per square meter are expected in the province of Luxembourg.
Richard, a resident, scans the level of the Semois with a little worry, especially since the street in which he lives was already flooded last January: “The street was blocked, the ice cream parlor was flooded. I keep an eye out, I always look at the water, I say to myself: ‘Hey, it’s not moving, it’s not rising’. We’re going to follow the events, we’re going to watch, that’s all we can do. Nature is nature. We won’t be able to do anything else.”.
Jessica, a shopkeeper from Bouillon, confided this morning that she scans the opposite bank with apprehension. She knows that once the water reaches the power poles, she should start to worry. This generally occurs 24 to 48 hours after the first precipitation, due to delayed runoff.
“It’s stressful, we have to move everything, put everything back together. So we wait”lance Jessica.
15 rivers on pre-alert
In total, around ten rivers – such as the Semois, the Vesdre or the Haute-Meuse – are in a state of pre-alert. This does not necessarily mean that they will overflow, but they are monitored and are subject to particular vigilance by the authorities.
The basins of the Amblève, the Vesdre, the Our, the Sure, the Lesse, the Ourthe (upstream), the Semois, the Chiers and the tributaries of the upper Meuse are placed in pre-alert as a preventive measure, announced Tuesday the Rain Expertise Unit of the Public Service of Wallonia (SPW).
The pre-alert thresholds should be crossed late Wednesday afternoon on certain rivers in the basins in the south-east of the country due to the Kirk depression. “Vigilance will be required on all watercourses located in the path of the depression and in particular in the Vesdre due to the construction sites present in the area”indicates the SPW. “What is necessary has already been done to warn these sites of the risks and take the necessary measures.”
Concerning the Gileppe, Eupen and Nisramont dams, the situation is “relatively comfortable at the reserve level”. Same story for the dams in the west of the country, which are currently not on the trajectory of the depression.
The SPW also reminds that, given the context, activities near rivers are strongly discouraged (walking, kayaking, etc.).
Floods Kirk pre-warning Watercourse semois
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