A tornado has damaged properties in Geetbets, Tienen and Zoutleeuw. The tornado that swept across the area on Thursday evening also damaged houses in the Walloon Brabant municipality of Beauvechain. Although no one was injured, several families have had to seek alternative accomodation.
After the tornado had first caused damage a few kilometres south in Beauvechain, it was the turn of Zoutleeuw and Geetbets to bear the brunt. At around 6.30pm swept over the Bungeveld social housing estate in the village of Budingen, near Zoutleeuw. Major damage was caused to the homes there and the roofs of several houses were torn off.
The emergency services and council workers carried out an initial clean-up operation. Residents whose home have been made uninhabitable were given shelter in a local community centre.
While most of those unable to return to their homes were able to find shelter with family or friends, a family of 7 has been given temporary accommodation at a hotel in the nearby Limburg town of Sint-Truiden.
Meanwhile, in Geetbets around a dozen homes in several streets were damaged by the tornado.