The Limburg municipality of Houthalen-Helchteren wants to gain official recognition as a disaster zone following the flooding and other damage caused by Thursday’s storm. Other Limburg municipalities are also thinking about applying for disaster zone status. In Houthalen-Helchteren, the east of the municipality has been particularly badly affected by Thursday’s heavy rainfall.
Houthalen-Helchteren's socialist mayor Alain Yzermans has already started the procedure to have his municipality recognised as a disaster area. The municipal authorities in Hoeselt are also considering applying for disaster zone recognition as the large amount of rainfall has caused major problems there too.
The issue in both municipalities is that the sewers there are too small to cope with the amount of rain that fell during Thursday’s storm. With the sewers unable to cope, cellars, garages and the ground-floors of homes flooded once again. Fields and farmland are now also flooded and the water is only draining away very slowly.
Mayor Yzermans told VRT NWS that "Many people have suffered water damage and they need to be compensated. Some sports clubs whose artificial turf surfaces have been destroyed also need help. Of course there is insurance, but if this proves in sufficient the authorities must intervene."
More than 20 hopes damaged in Hoeselt
In the Limburg municipality of Hoeselt, Mayor Yves Croux (Liberal) says that between 20 and 25 houses were damaged.
"We’ve had to deal with serious flooding. Not only flooded cellars and gardens. In some cases, the damage is much more extensive”. The problem in Hoeselt is that the higher ground in the municipality is mainly agricultural land "and the water flows down from there to the houses below." The municipal authorities are in the process of acquiring land in order to create a buffer basin.