Heavy rain with the possibility of flooding are forecast for today. Although Wallonia is expected to bear the brunt of the downpours, there could also be some localised flooding issues in Flanders and Brussels too. The situation is particularly precarious in the Upper Scheldt and Dender Basins.
Heavy rain on its way, Enivronment Agency warns of “critical situation in the late afternoon”.
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Many areas woke up to showers of rain on Tuesday morning. The rain will become heavier as the day progresses. There will also be high winds with gusts reaching speeds of 80 km/h and even 95 km/h in coastal areas. The Royal Meteorologic Institute (KMI) has issued a Code Yellow warning for high winds in coastal areas from 5pm today.
Code Yellow in Wallonia
In Flanders and Brussels between 20 and 25 litres of rain per M² are expected to fall in 24 hours. However, in the southeast of the country much more rain is expected. KMI has issued a Code Yellow warning for heavy rain in 4 of the 5 Walloon province. In the 5th, Luxemburg Province, a Code Orange warning has been issued. There between 70 and in some areas as much as 130 litres of rain per m² is expected to fall in 96 hours.
Flooding in Flanders?
In Flanders there are fears that excess rainfall could cause some localised flooding issues in the Upper Scheldt and Dender Basins. The Flemish Environment Agency’s Katrien Smet told VRT News “I fear that we the situation will be quite critical in the late afternoon”.
In addition to farmland some houses might also be flooded. Ms Smet says that the Environment Agency is closely monitoring the situation and the emergency services and other relevant agencies have been informed”. The River Dender flows through Ninove, an East Flemish town around 25 kilometres west of Brussels. There the local authority is doing all it can to prepare for the River Dender bursting its banks.
Although the water level in the river is rising it has not yet reached a critical level. However, this could change quicky as “Because of this we need to be prepared for every eventuality”, the Mayor of Ninove Tanja De Jonge (liberal) told VRT News. The local authority has a plentiful supply of sand bags that residents can either go and collect from the municipal depot or from a number of other collection points throughout the town.
The situation in West Flanders is also being closely monitored. In neighbouring northern France, a Code Orange warning for rain is in force in three “departments” that border Belgium.