Around 25 l/m² of rain is predicted to fall in several places in Belgium on Tuesday, the Royal Meteorological Institute warned, announcing code yellow.
The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium announced a 'code yellow' for the whole country, meaning 10 to 30 l/m² of rain could fall every hour, with heavy gusts of wind or hailstones from 1 to 2 cm.
The Department for Domestic Affairs opened the 1722 emergency number, for non-life threatening storm or water damage, so as not to overburden the usual 112 number.
Around 8:00 on Tuesday morning, the total length of traffic jams in Flanders was almost at 250 km. "That is really exceptional," said Peter Bruyninckx, spokesperson of the Flemish Traffic Centre, in Het Laatste Nieuws. The Centre asked drivers to pay extra attention due to excessive water on many roads. "Around Bruges, there is 15 cm of water on the road surface in some places," he added.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
