It has been raining all over the country for a few days. A situation that raises fears of new floods in Wallonia.
Following the last abundant rainfall accumulated over the past 24 hours, a rise in water levels has been observed in the Basse Semois basin and its tributaries, which has entered the flood pre-alert phase, indicates Thursday followingnoon the Walloon hydrometry portal.
The Vierre, Chiers, Moyenne and Haute Semois basins, as well as the Sûre basins should also go on flood pre-alert in the coming hours. The Walloon portal specifies that, given the weather forecasts, “the levels of the rivers will once more move upwards and the pre-alert thresholds might be reached during the night from Thursday to Friday. The levels will evolve slowly on the rise and should reach their maximum on Friday at the end of the followingnoon while remaining below the alert thresholds”. For the moment, the rest of the Walloon territory is considered to be in the “normal” phase.
I think it brings back memories for most people…
Given the saturation of the soil, which is already very high, the pre-alert thresholds might be reached in the basins of the Semois, the Chiers, the Haute-Lesse and the Viroin or even the Our, the far east of our country.
“A faster increase in flows has been observed in Wallonia, but there is no fear. These overflows are expected in uninhabited areas such as meadows, for example”specifies our journalist live from Pepinster.
The levels are relatively high, which is not abnormal for the month of January. Unfortunately, this is not enough to reassure the inhabitants, many of whom are still affected by the floods of July 2021.
“When I see the level rising, I worry a little (…). I think it brings back memories for the majority of people… But hey, you have to live with it“, says a young resident. A second adds: “It’s true that it challenges and I hope that it will calm down for everyone, that we will never relive what we have experienced“.
