The Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) has now declared a code yellow warning for rain in the province of West Flanders. The announcement follows an earlier warning issued for Wallonia.
Code yellow – which means that intense showers and/or persistent rain are expected – will be in force from 10:00 on Thursday until 01:00. The same warning was in force across most of the country on Tuesday afternoon as well.
"There is great uncertainty in precipitation forecasts. Many calculations give between 25 and 50 mm of precipitation in parts of Hainaut, Namur and Luxembourg," the RMI announced. "In West Flanders, more than 25 mm could fall locally in 24 hours." The institute cited ongoing problems in some areas as reason for the code yellow warning in the general area.
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In the province of East Flanders, Governor Carina Van Cauter has also declared the provincial phase of the disaster plan for Thursday evening, as the RMI is forecasting a lot of rain in the province of East Flanders. "There has also been a lot of precipitation over the past few days, causing high water levels. Local flooding is therefore not out of the question."
Van Cauter consulted with the watercourse managers, the RMI, the mayors and emergency response services, which she confirmed "are on standby and are closely monitoring the situation." Residents have been informed of the warnings via various channels, including an e-mail to those who have subscribed to BE-Alert.
The governor has triggered the provincial phase of the disaster plan as the situation requires coordination and arrangements above the local level.
