Belgium and the Netherlands: critical situation in the border regions

Germany’s neighboring countries are also struggling with floods. So far, at least 20 people have been killed in Belgium by the storm. In the Netherlands, thousands are fleeing the masses of water.

After the violent storms, the death toll in Belgium has risen to at least 20. 20 people are still missing after the floods in the east of the country, as the Interior Ministry announced in Brussels. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo declared Tuesday a national day of mourning.

“We’re still waiting for the final figures,” De Croo said at a press conference. “But these could be the most catastrophic floods our country has ever seen.” In many places the situation is still “extremely critical”.

The Liège region, near the border with Germany and the Netherlands, is most affected. At least ten bodies have so far been recovered in the municipalities of Verviers and Pepinster alone. In Pepinster, located on the Vesdre, around twenty houses collapsed, as Mayor Philippe Godin said.

Most of the rivers in the south and east of Belgium flow into the Meuse near Liège, including the Ourthe and Vesdre. The communities bordering these rivers have been flooded since Wednesday.

Dutch are fleeing the tide

In the south of the Netherlands, thousands of people left their homes and went to safety. Among other things, the city of Venlo with around 100,000 inhabitants is affected by floods. Much of the city is to be evacuated, the administration said. Previously, families in the town of Meerssen and its surroundings had to leave their homes due to a dike breach. Emergency services warned that the water masses threatened to flood several villages.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte declared the flood in the province of Limburg in the south of the country to be a national disaster. Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers tried to strengthen levees and move residents away.

In the municipality of Valkenburg, which is near the German and Belgian borders, the city center was flooded. A number of nursing homes had to be evacuated and at least one bridge was destroyed. The floods tore a hole in the dyke of a canal near Maastricht. Although the feared devastating floods often did not occur, the water masses caused damage. According to local authorities, the rivers Maas and Rur had already reached record levels on Thursday.