The Belgian met office’s amber weather warning for wind issued for West Flanders Province has been extended to East Flanders and Hainaut. Vigilance is urged as Storm Ciarán arrives in Belgium.
Expect gusty conditions across the country. A yellow weather warning for wind applies across the rest of Belgium. Parks and nature reserves have been closed. Belgian Rail is running a reduced service. There are no services beyond Bruges in the direction of the coast.
An amber warning warns of the danger of widespread material damage. The emergency number 1722 has been activated. The number intended to ease pressure on 112 should be used to report damage when there is no threat to life. 112 should be called for emergencies with a threat to life.
With strong winds anticipated the amber weather warning has now been extended to parts of East Flanders and Hainaut. Strong winds leading to considerable damage and disruption of traffic are on the cards.
Top speeds of gusts range from 90km/h out east to 100km/h in central parts and 110km/h in West Flanders and parts of Hainaut and East Flanders.
Speeds in excess of these figures may occur.
Many rail services have been cancelled out of safety concerns. Consult the NMBS app for the latest information. Other services are running at reduced speed at least till 6PM.
Rail traffic between Ghent and Denderleeuw has already been disrupted due to a tree on the line. There are reports of trees hampering traffic from across West Flanders. Elsewhere fire-fighters have been called on to deal with structures that have blown off buildings.