Large parts of Belgium were hit by thunderstorms and heavy rainfall that lasted several hours. In Brussels, several tunnels were closed due to flooding while some streets were also affected. The rain is forecast to continue until the afternoon.
Due to the predicted bad weather, the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) issued code yellow – the lowest warning level – for thunderstorms across the entire country from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday late evening (in the south of Belgium). In the early hours of Thursday, heavy rain started to fall in Brussels, while intense lightning and thunder could be seen and heard.
"Localised thunderstorms may continue to develop until tonight. They could be severe in some areas, with hail and wind gusts," the RMI said on Thursday morning. "Several calculations assume tens of mm of precipitation in a very short time on a local level, but there is no agreement on the location(s).
"Because of the uncertainty, we are issuing code yellow at the provincial level, but very localised (severe) problems of flooding may occur." In Brussels, the rain is expected to stop around 15:00, while the code yellow warning will remain in place until 17:00.
Tunnels closed and flooded basements
In Brussels, code yellow has been in force since 21:00 on Wednesday. "28 mm has fallen in Uccle already. The Brussels-Capital Region is not spared," weather reporter David Dehenauw wrote on social media early this morning.
At 09:00, only the Bailli tunnel towards the centre and the Porte de Namur tunnel towards the Basilica remained closed but they reopened around 09:30. Several other tunnels including Madou towards the Basilique, Montgomery towards the A12, Stéphanie towards Midi and Georges-Henri and Vleurgat, both in the two directions, were all closed at some stage. These reopened at around 08:00.
C’est festif à Bruxelles, on peut peut être même s’y baigner … 📍 Avenue de Fré, Uccle (source Facebook)#Bruxelles #Inondation #Uccle #Meteo pic.twitter.com/t3AdRNFGDk
— 𝒮 - 🚗❤️ (@Milanista_Sab) August 1, 2024
Video shows a flooded street in Uccle
The region's fire brigade completed 61 interventions related to the heavy rain, spokesperson Walter Derieuw said. "Most of the calls we receive are for flooded roads, with a few interventions at private homes for flooded garages or basements."
Unlike the heavy storm that hit Brussels on 9 July, public transport does not seem to be affected by the latest bad weather. Brussels public transport operator STIB's spokesperson Guy Sablon told The Brussels Times that there was a slight delay for some connections, but overall, there have been no interruptions or lines shutting down.
Floods in a Brussels building. Credit: Brussels Fire Brigade
While some technical issues were reported earlier in the morning, slightly affecting train traffic, national railway operator SNCB's spokesperson Bart Crols confirmed trains are largely running as scheduled as of 09:00.
In other places, the storm caused more damage. In the province of Limburg, three houses were hit by lightning, causing a fire. In Flemish Brabant, the fire brigade received 385 calls from people, again related to flooded streets and basements. The tunnel at Leuven station was also closed due to the flooding.
