The precipitation that fell in Belgium between Tuesday and Wednesday caused damage in all three regions of the country. The soil, already soaked by months of abnormally heavy rain, was unable to retain water as it should and mudslides were reported in many communities.
In Walhain, residents no longer hide their weariness. “I have been flooded in 2021, last May and again this Tuesday. My house has been decommissioned and I can no longer live there. For three years, floods have been happening all the time and we no longer know what to do for the municipality to act. This time again I had mud in my kitchen”sighs Muriel Damien, a resident of the town.
In Picardy Wallonia, firefighters were called upon around fifty times for mudslides, submerged roads and flooded cellars. The Ath region was particularly affected. A couple had to be relocated after their house was flooded.
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In the Liège region, interventions took place on Tuesday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. for pumping or cutting operations. The Basse-Meuse region was particularly affected.
In Bassenge, the downpours caused flooding on the roads and roads had to be temporarily closed to traffic. Firefighters also had to intervene in Ans, Oreye, Remicourt and Avernas-le-Bauduin, in the town of Hannut, where large mudslides spread through the streets.
In the Charleroi region, the center of Thiméon found itself under water and a street under construction collapsed in Gosselies.
“The map of flood zones is no longer up to date”
The heavy rains also caused damage in Flanders, in the Antwerp municipalities of Lier and Lint and in Limburg where firefighters received around twenty calls in less than an hour.
Brussels was more spared than its neighbors but the emergency services also had to intervene locally for flooded cellars or overflowing sewers.
A worrying repetition
More than the intensity of events, it is their repetition which is worrying. “This is the law of series. There was a period when Jodoigne was regularly affected but lately, it’s Walhain who picks up everything. As soon as there is a little heavy rain, the water runs off and invades the streets and cellars”observes Daniel Demeester, head of the Walloon Brabant emergency zone.
“It’s sad. I have lived here for thirty years and I had not experienced flooding before 2021. But for three years, it has not stopped. This time, I had ten centimeters of water in my garage and on May 12, I had sixty centimeters. As a result, I had two cars flooded, bicycles and power tools ruined. The most painful thing is that I have the feeling that the municipality is doing nothing to prevent this. Since 2021, we would have had time to redo the banks. We would also have had time to clean the stream to avoid mudslides. We could have avoided these floods,” deplores Marc Duerinckx, a resident of the town.
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In the neighboring house, Muriel Damien takes inventory of the damage. “That’s my kitchen, redone in 2021,” she sighs, pointing to a pile of soggy furniture littering his driveway. “I have lived here since 2017 and I don’t know what to do anymore. Since 2021, floods have been happening all the time. Yesterday it happened again: everything was flooded with mud and feces because the stream had turned into an open sewer. However, I redid my terrace and invested a lot of money to limit the risks following the floods of 2021. Honestly, I don’t know what to do anymore. Staying means taking the risk of it starting again, but I can’t afford to buy another house and I don’t necessarily want to. It’s up to the community to find solutions”she testifies.
”In my kitchen, following the floods of May 12, the water came up to table level. Now I can’t do anything but wait for everything to dry before doing any more work. In the meantime, I am staying in an annex lent to me by friends and my life has been put on hold. I have to take time off all the time to come and see how the situation is progressing and to carry out administrative procedures. For morale, it becomes really difficult.”
This fear of repetition also animates Eric Labourdette, president of the SLFP Pompiers. “Extreme weather-related events are increasing. During the floods of 2021, all emergency areas were called upon and since then, measures have still not been taken to prevent damage. Today there are floods and tomorrow there will be brush fires. The emergency services are clearly not prepared to deal with an increase in events of this kind. All these disasters linked to climate change are starting to happen a lot.”
