In several places across Belgium, including in Brussels, Tuesday's heavy rain caused damage, and in some places, evacuations. As more rain is expected on Wednesday, many municipalities are holding their breath.
The Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) issued a weather warning from 06:00 on Tuesday until 08:00 on Thursday as an active rain zone passed over Belgium, followed by numerous showers. A code orange warning was issued in Luxembourg while code yellow was issued for all of Wallonia, and later also in Limburg and Flemish Brabant. In many places, heavy rain was also accompanied by strong winds.
However, the damage was not limited to these areas. The Brussels Fire Brigade was called out 71 times on Tuesday for storm and water damage, fire brigade spokesperson Walter Derieuw said on Wednesday morning. About half of the 71 interventions were for flooded streets and basements.
Firefighters also had to clear fallen trees and broken branches in 16 places. Other interventions mainly concerned roof tiles and stones, which were in danger of falling. The fire brigade expects several more interventions due to the wind and rain on Wednesday.
Emergency plans activated
The 1722 number for non-emergency fire brigade calls, which aims to prevent emergency numbers from being overwhelmed, was activated on Monday across the country. But more was needed in the worst-affected areas.
On Tuesday evening, the provincial phase of the emergency plan was declared in the province of East Flanders due to flooding. Governor Carina Van Cauter reported this after consultation with local authorities and watercourse managers. Watercourses burst their banks, especially in the Dender, the Leie and the Lower Scheldt basins.
"The RMI is also forecasting a great deal of precipitation tomorrow [Wednesday] and there has also been a lot over the past few days, which means that water levels are high and the ground is saturated," she said, adding that additional and critical flooding cannot be ruled out.
This plan allows for supra-local coordination and supra-local agreements to take the necessary measures and make preparations according to the forecasts. Pumps are also being deployed, additional dykes are being constructed, flood areas are being enlarged where possible and houses and infrastructure are being protected with sandbags.
In Flemish Brabant, Governor Jan Spooren also proclaimed the provincial phase of the disaster plan on Tuesday evening. The municipalities of Londerzeel, Ternat, Merchtem and Opwijk are facing the most problems. Fire services in the province have already received more than 400 emergency calls.
In Affligem, located in the province, the situation is critical and people are preparing for possible evacuations; some streets near the Dender and Bellebeek rivers are already completely flooded. In Londerzeel, the municipal phase of the emergency plan is also in place and several streets are closed off.
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The municipalities of Oudenaarde, Kluisbergen, Kruisem and Wortegem-Petegem, which are part of the Flemish Ardennes police zone, jointly declared the municipal phase of the crisis plan to better coordinate their efforts. In Zandbergen, a borough of Geraardsbergen, also in the Flemish Ardennes, the first houses have already been evacuated.
On Wednesday, the RMI stated that more rain is expected until Thursday morning: "Due to the showery nature of the precipitation, large regional differences in precipitation amounts may be recorded." Showers are expected to be particularly intense south of Sambre and Meuse.
However, the code orange for Luxembourg has been replaced by code yellow, which is now also issued for Namur and Liège. Thursday will be temporarily drier before another active rain zone reaches Belgium on Thursday evening.
