Code yellow has been issued in three provinces and several rivers in the south of Belgium are once again under flood alert due to an active disturbance passing over the country.
Heavy rain is falling across large parts of the country on Monday. The Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) warned that rainfall totals could even approach 20 to 30 litres/m2 in the west of the country over 24 hours. Code yellow for rainfall has therefore been issued for the provinces of Hainaut, West Flanders and East Flanders until Monday evening.
The Home Affairs Ministry has also temporarily activated the number 1722 for cases of damage requiring fire brigade assistance such as flooded cellars or flooding on roads.
Requests can be online made via www.1722.be, which the ministry recommends, or by telephone (dial number 1722). This hotline aims to ensure that the emergency number 112 is kept free for potentially life-threatening situations.
In the other provinces, the RMI expects heavy rainfall (5 to 20 litres/m2 or locally a bit more), but the criteria for a yellow warning will not be met.
Rising water levels
The Walloon hydrometric service's website noted that several waterways in the north of Hainaut and south of Luxembourg were on pre-alert flood levels on Monday morning. However, it noted that the flood alert threshold itself will likely not be reached.
The flow of the Haute Sambre stabilised by Monday morning but remains slightly above the early warning threshold, while the Chiers river levels are rising. "Given the weather forecasts, the trend will continue throughout the day and maximum flows should be reached during the evening."
The same is true for the levels of the Dendre basin and its tributaries, which are rising but will likely reach maximum levels in the evening without alert levels being reached.
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From Monday evening, it will gradually become dry with clearings, especially in the north-western part of the country which is now most heavily affected. On Tuesday morning, clearings will appear in the north-western part of the country, extending to the centre of the country during the afternoon.
Wednesday will remain dry, with some light frost in the centre and east of the country in the morning. During the day, there will be sunny spells and clouds. Thursday will start off fairly sunny, but clouds will gradually increase from the west, followed by rain in the late afternoon and evening.
