In Rue des Saules, Monique Wagner was lucky to be able to count on outside help, while the Thorembais, which passes right next to her home, overflowed onto the road.
“Water has entered my house before, but not this time, explains the 78-year-old woman. I immediately called 100, the firefighters arrived and placed sandbags and bales of straw all around my home. The damage is ultimately very limited. We’ll just have to clean everything…”
An episode that could have turned out differently. “How did I experience it? I was a nurse for thirty years in Brussels, where there are many social problems. There were no deaths on Tuesday evening, so I didn’t panic. It’s useless anyway…”
Monique Wagner asked the mayor to congratulate the firefighters for their intervention. “A firefighter told me to let him know at any time if anything happened to me. Do you understand what that means? Not only did he help me physically, but also mentally. He wanted reassure me. People have their watches in their hands all the time, but he took the time to take care of me.” she appreciates.
Impossible to sleep
His neighbor, Éric, did not experience the episode in the same way.
“In 2021, we had 10 centimeters of water throughout the house. This Tuesday, I was stressed and panicked. It’s impossible to sleep when the Thorembais gets out of bed. There is anxiety, we is tense all the time Fortunately, thanks to the bundles, I was a little more confident…”
At his house, it was not the firefighters who came. “A farmer came to place bales in front of the sandbags. It was super nice and very effective. In the street, there were 50 centimeters of water, compared to only 10 in my yard. The water is not not climb any further.”
Just like at Hain in Walhain, Éric complains about the lack of maintenance. “We can hardly see the Thorembais anymore because there is so much vegetation. It is up to the Walloon Region to come and cut it all down, but they are not moving…”
