Nov 13, 2023 at 7:04 PM Update: 28 minutes ago
Due to persistent rain, the coastal region of Flanders near the French border has been experiencing heavy flooding and flooding for a week. There are also major problems in France. And rain is still coming.
The soil in West Flanders is now saturated. Rivers and streams have overflowed their banks and fields and villages are flooded.
The provincial disaster plan for West Flanders was announced last week. Fire brigade and volunteers make human chains and try to keep the waterways in line with sandbags.
In Houthulst in Belgium, the water was already much higher than usual on Friday due to the heavy rainfall. Photo: AFP
Also big problems in the French department
There are also major problems in France due to a lot of rainfall, especially in the Pas-de-Calais department, near the border with Belgium. Rivers have burst their banks and code orange will still apply until tomorrow. Schools in all 279 municipalities in the department will remain closed until at least Tuesday, it writes The Parisian.
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to the area tomorrow with his wife. With her, “the Head of State will express his support and that of the entire nation to the inhabitants affected by the successive periods of flooding, as well as to all the mobilized emergency forces,” the Élysée reported.
Rain will continue to fall in France until Thursday. Better weather is expected from Friday.
Entire villages have been flooded in France. Photo: Reuters
High water levels are becoming more common due to climate change
According to hydraulic engineer Patrick Willems of the Catholic University of Leuven, extreme water levels such as those in Belgium have been measured more often in recent years. In the Flemish newspaper The standard the hydraulic engineer predicts that they will become even more common due to climate change.
Just like in the Netherlands, there are also calls in Belgium to give the water more space through flood areas. Such calls gained urgency after the major floods of 2021, when the Vesder river, among other things, burst its banks in Wallonia. 39 people died, thousands of people were left homeless and entire municipalities turned into chaos.
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Image: Reuters
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2023-11-13 18:04:23
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