A heavy thunderstorm on Thursday evening caused flooding of shops and homes in Omal, in the Liège municipality of Geer, local rescue services announced on Friday.
Firefighters from Hesbaye were deployed on Thursday evening shortly before 19:30 along the Chaussée Romaine in Omal, in the Geer entity.
Significant quantities of water and mud from the surrounding countryside flooded the cellars of houses, as well as the hall of the “Ainsi Danse” school, where the water level reached around 60 centimetres.
The plastic materials shop “de Stexhe” was also reportedly affected.
“A heavy storm was actually concentrated upstream, on the village of Tourinne-la-Chaussée, in the neighbouring municipality of Braives, pouring large quantities of water into the countryside. This water, accompanied by mud, invaded the road in Omal,” explained Didier Lerusse, a local councillor, to Belga on Friday morning.
The road was temporarily closed to traffic. A civil protection team carried out a reconnaissance of the scene, but the Hesbion Fire Brigade was tasked with managing the intervention.
