Belgium and the Netherlands: “It’s a disaster, a tsunami”

The storm also caused severe damage in neighboring German countries. At least 27 people have been killed in Belgium so far. In the Netherlands, people with sandbags continue to fight the flood.

Heavy rain and storms have also caused severe devastation in Belgium and the Netherlands. In eastern Belgium, after the heavy floods, the full extent of the destruction is gradually becoming visible. The number of confirmed fatalities rose to 27. “Unfortunately, we have to expect that this number will continue to rise in the next few hours and days,” said the country’s national crisis center. More than 100 people are still missing.

Due to power outages and disruptions in the telephone networks, it is too difficult to reach people, said a spokesman for the Belgian crisis center for the AFP news agency. After days of heavy rain, the densely populated valleys of the Meuse region had been flooded.

The situation remains critical

In the meantime the rain has subsided and the receding water masses left a picture of the destruction in around 120 Belgian communities. Dented cars, some of which were wedged between walls, testified to the violence of the water masses. Residents piled soaked furniture on the sidewalks, pumped the remaining water out of the basements and removed puddles of water on the ground floors.

In parts of the province of Flemish Brabant, the situation is still critical, it said. In the municipalities of Zoutleeuw and Rotselaar, the situation could therefore even worsen. The level of the Demer has reached a critical point.

Von der Leyen visits affected communities

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the affected areas; first the municipality of Rochefort in the province of Namur, then Pepinster in the province of Liège. There alone around twelve people died in the masses of water. “It’s a disaster, a tsunami,” said Mayor Philippe Godin.

Von der Leyen promised support to those affected. “I told them: The EU is by your side. We mourn together – and we are building together again,” she said on Twitter. De Croo has declared a national day of mourning for Tuesday.

Flood situation in the Netherlands remains tense

In the Netherlands, residents along the Meuse continue to fight the flood with sandbags and protective measures. The authorities said that the water level is not expected to sink until Sunday.

In Venlo on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia, a hospital with 200 patients had been evacuated as a precaution. Thousands of people were called to leave their homes in the city and surrounding areas. Although the floods caused considerable material damage, there were no reports of injuries.

Mayor thanks for help from Germany

The authorities called on onlookers to stay home and threatened with fines. As the city of Venlo announced, the police also monitored the evacuated areas and the dikes from the air. The mayor of Venlo, Antoin Scholten, thanked for the enormous willingness to help, also from the German border area. There were offers to billet residents of the evacuated areas, and fire brigades with material and teams were available to help.

In view of the catastrophic situation in the German flood areas, one did not dare to ask for help, said Scholten.

Further north in Gennep, the expected flood volume has since been corrected downwards. The tidal wave will remain below that of the devastating 1993 flood. As it now looks, the water will stay within the dykes, they said. A weir on the Niers, which flows out of the Kleve district, was closed. After the floods in 1993, dykes and protective structures were built in the region along the Meuse at great expense.