Floods: The young CDH of Mons launch a harvest for the victims of cork rescues, evacuations, forecasts: full point in the Liège region end of the day

FLASH > La Ville de Liège demande d’évacuer

By the voice of Christine Defraigne, who acts as a bourgmestre this Thursday, we learn at the beginning of the afternoon that the level of the Meuse has yet to go up."As a security measure, we therefore ask all those who are in town at the moment and who do not live there to go home," she explains.And to all Liègeois who live along the river to also go to the heights or to go up to the floors.»»

Currently, police cars with a loudspeaker broadcast this message in all the districts concerned.

"We must still expect 1m50 more than what was planned," continues Marc Minet, the head of security in the city.The flow rate went to 3000 m³ second at the Monsin Island Damper bridge while we expected 2,500 m³.The peak that was to take place at 1 p.m..»»

Police asked all shops to close their doors."The crisis situation is exceptional.Solidarity must take precedence.»»

FLASH > Les secours français sont arrivés à Trooz

Many residents of the Vesdre valley awaited them like the Messiah.The firefighters sent by the French Directorate of French Civil Security arrived in Trooz to help the victimized population.

We also learn from the Liège municipal councilor CDH Benjamin Bodson that a convoy of 103 firefighters and 26 boats have just left the region of his wife in Austria to join Liège. « Belle solidarité»», lance-t-il.

More gas in several municipalities

A medium pressure gas pipe located under the oak bridge was torn off by water.The released gas has ignited.The Angleur Fluxys post has been put out of service for obvious security reasons.The localities of Chaudfontaine, Trooz, Fraipont, Nessonvaux, Tilff and Embourg are therefore no longer supplied with gas.It is currently impossible to estimate the recovery period.

Electricity problems for several days

The power cuts multiply following the floods and many whole districts are without electricity in the Liège region.The gas network is also strongly impacted.Resa, which manages gas and electricity, already announces that one should in no case expect a return to normal for several days.

The situation in the Liège municipalities disaster victims

Tendant help calls are constantly flocking.Help calls from Trooz, Vaux, Chaudfontaine or Oak.Sometimes coming from the family stuck on the 1st floor of their home, in their attic, without food ... and who implored that we come to pick them up.But also a lot of people who have no more news of their relatives deprived of electricity, telephone, and which we absolutely do not know in what situation they are.

The toll is already too heavy: a 22 -year -old was discovered lifeless on the side of Eupen.A death is also reported in Aywaille.He is a man who has been lifeless in the cellar of his home.Four other people were lifeless in Verviers.

We are obviously afraid of the worst: how many people have disappeared?The next hours will be crucial ...

Current rescues

Fortunately, Liège firefighters undertook rescue operations during this night."The national phase was launched this night. Des pompiers de toute la Belgique sont arrivés déjà la nuit pour aider nos pompiers et ceux de la zone 4»»

A crew of eight firefighters from Antwerp has indeed gone assistance to the province of Liège, seriously affected by the floods.Among them, five divers with boats and rescue equipment, who will help the army evacuate people from their homes or locate missing people if necessary.

According to Antwerp firefighters, this assistance has no impact on their own operations, because the employees in question were not supposed to work but volunteered. « Nous restons vigilants dans notre propre région, mais au vu de la situation actuelle, c’est en Campine qu’il va continuer à pleuvoir beaucoup dans notre province»», ont-ils déclaré.

► 40 sapeurs-pompiers français avec un hélicoptère « Dragon»» arrivent

The Directorate General for Civil Security and French Crisis Management indicates this Thursday that it was sent to reinforce in the province of Liège 40 firefighters as well as an intervention helicopter.

As part of the European Union civil protection mechanism, the French Civil Security Directorate indicates this Thursday that "40 firefighters are leaving in Belgium in the province of Liège affected by strong floods.A dragon (intervention helicopter belonging to civil security, editor's note) with on board is also engaged.»»

Vaux-sous-Chèvremont and Chaudfontaine

The images are cold in the back.In Vaux-sous-Chèvremont, rue Principale, rue du Général Jacques has turned into an unleashed river, impossible to cross yesterday and last night.

This in the afternoon Thursday, the flow has calmed down slightly and the water level seems to go up no longer.

► Call for help

The town of Chaudfontaine is launching a new call for help!"Search for engine boats.Zodiac type.Vehicle and insured persons.Transport of the guaranteed boat.Planned remuneration. Des vies sont en jeu»».Anyone in possession of such a good and likely to help are invited to contact Laurent Grava on 0493/25 44 73.

► Daniel Bacquelaine : « La décrue ne devrait pas arriver avant ce soir»»

In Chaudfontaine, the situation was still critical this Thursday morning with waters which reach up to 1m80 or even 2 meters in certain areas like Vaux-sous-Chèvremont.

"During the night, the evacuations of the most endangered people who were going to a vital risk extended.This morning, the evacuations resumed in boat. La priorité est donnée aux personnes qui encourent un risque physique»», explique le bourgmestre calidifontain, Daniel Bacquelaine.

For the time being, in several places in the entity, only nautical means can be used to help the population. « La force du courant et la hauteur de l’eau ne permettent pas aux engins motorisés de se rendre sur place»», précise le bourgmestre ce jeudi matin.

It is not yet time to talk about assessment, but the municipality currently has no human loss."Until now, we will not record any death and no disappearance, but we have to wait for the balance sheet. La décrue ne devrait pas arriver avant ce soir, voire demain matin»», ajoute Daniel Bacquelaine.

For the time being, the municipality is deprived of electricity and the telephone network is very disturbed.The situation is such that the crisis center has been moved.

Trooz

The situation is critical in the commune of Trooz but the water surges seem to calm down.An unprecedented situation that the authorities did not expect to face.

"The intensity of these floods had not been announced in this way," explains the bourgmestre of Trooz.On Wednesday, when I learned in the press that the worst remained to come, I directly contacted the authorities to obtain assistance from the army which started working in our area only around 10 p.m..They managed to evacuate around thirty people and at 4 am, they had to stop the evacuations because the boat kept turning because of the strength of the current. Ce matin, de nombreux pompiers et l’armée ont repris les évacuations sur la commune, mais le courant est toujours très fort et je viens d’apprendre que le bateau vient de se retourner une nouvelle fois»».

The situation is catastrophic as evidenced by the extremely proven bourgmestre, on the verge of tears, which feels helpless in the face of the disaster."I keep calling the ministers, the district commissioner so that we are sent help.I have heard from a family with two children blocked upstairs of their home with water until then.They planned to break the windows to go swimming, despite the torrent.I also learned that people had spent part of the night standing on a table and an elderly lady who lives in a bungalow had water yesterday.These are people who are more new is terrible. J’ai passé une partie de la nuit à pleurer ce sont des amis la famille et nous n’avons plus de nouvelles de ces personnes»», indique Fabien Beltran.

"Firefighters and civil protection machines are K.O.They were destroyed when they were trying to help the population.For the time being, only a boat remains operational.Civil protection intervened with a hard hull outboard that has also turned.Firefighters' boats are not made to navigate in waters like this with so many obstacles and signaling panels hidden under the surface.We have established our crisis center in Beaufays, so we are trying to find solutions in collaboration with the town of Chaudfontaine. Nous tentons de trouver des personnes en possession de bateaux puissants avec les compétences nécessaires pour naviguer dans les conditions que nous connaissons aujourd’hui»», explique Fabien Beltran.

► Solidarity Elan

Fortunately, in Trooz, the town can benefit from a formidable impetus of solidarity.Volunteers, equipped with boat in particular, are currently at the workplace to try to evacuate the victims.

The municipality tries by all means to help the population, they now use social networks to communicate with the population."We are trying to collect and check a maximum of information to save as many people as possible. Le réseau téléphonique étant surchargé, nous tentons de vous répondre au maximum dans les meilleurs délais»».

Oak

Also in Oak, countless dwellings are trapped in waters.Here too, heartbreaking calls like the one that Laurent has just transmitted: "Hello, in despair, I go through you: my ex-wife and my two children are blocked at home, in a small street in Oak (rue desPrimity), completely flooded, without food, soon more GSM and no help from the start...They are blocked in the floors.Impossible to reach help.Help.»»

The Meuse could overflow: Liège on alert

Also in Liège, the situation is tense.The Meuse could also overflow.We remember his breath for the moment at the Monsin Island Barrage Pont.The waters are still going up and the peak is expected for 13 hours.Only two out of six valves work, the other four being in repair.

And this is unfortunately already the case on the side of the Boverie park where the ravels are flooded just like the banks of the park.Proof of the power of the current, the famous arcs of Venet...have disappeared and seems to have been carried away (read below).

► Several buildings evacuated preventively

If many people are preparing, in Liège, to face possible floods, certain buildings have been evacuated preventively.This is particularly the case for the Tour des Finances and offices of the Ban Central BNP Paribas-Fortis in the city center.The Saint-Lambert galleries also indicate that they will close at 12:30 p.m. this Thursday.

Aywaille

The town of Aywaille is also in a critical situation this Thursday."At night, priority was to evacuate people taken trapped by waters.Between an hour and four in the morning, the Amblot has climbed more than a meter.The conditions were very complicated, several campsites were surrounded by the waters, so people were blocked. Beaucoup ont été évacués, mais il reste encore plusieurs personnes à évacuer»», indique Thierry Carpentier, le bourgmestre.

Calls from people in difficulty flock."Throughout the night, I answered calls from people in difficulty.When vehicles knew how to pass, it was still easy, but now the areas are inaccessible.It therefore takes the intervention of boats or civil geniuses to help the population which makes the situation complicated. L’armée est présente sur place»», explique le bourgmestre.

Comblain-au-Pont

« Que ce soit à Poulseur, au pont de Saive ou partout ailleurs sur la commune, ça ne va vraiment pas»», nous répond à la hâte Jean-Christophe Henon, bourgmestre.: "The inhabitants are at first and they are afraid that the water will continue to go up.We lack everything, we don't have enough means, not enough zodiacs etc, to rescue everyone.

It seems that there are helicopters who must come and who cannot take off because of the time.There are human lives that are at stake, we must act. Les pompiers donnent le maximum, ils font vraiment ce qu’ils peuvent…»»

Basse-Meuse

- For the moment, Dalhem was the most affected.Yesterday, around 8 p.m., the situation was even very complicated since almost all the villages were inaccessible, because of the flooded roads.Only the national was still passable, which obviously made the intervention of firefighters and municipal services very complicated.

"We had hundreds of flooded houses," explains Arnaud Dewez, bourgmestre."We even had to evacuate certain dwellings in Dalhem.We had planned a reception center, but the inhabitants could be relocated to relatives.The workers worked tirelessly overnight to help the victims.»» Fort heureusement, ce jeudi matin, la situation s’améliorait."The levels drop and the roads are again accessible.But we monitor the situation carefully.The meadows are full of water and there is still a mass of water that is evacuated on Mortroux and then towards Dalhem and Berneau.If it no longer rains, it should go.The next hours will be really crucial.»»

- In Bragny, the two valleys, that of the Bolland and that of the Julienne, experience flood problems. « Je n’ai d’ailleurs jamais vu ce qu’il se passe dans la vallée du Bolland»», nous confirme Marc Bolland, bourgmestre de Blegny."For the Bolland Valley, it is essentially on Saint-Remy that there are problems and for the Julienne valley, it is especially behind the Church of Saive, on the side of the Julienne and rueGrand Moulin.Yesterday, we also experienced a serious situation, but excluding proportion of what is happening elsewhere.In total, 60 to 70 houses are flooded on Bragny but it feels like the levels are already falling.»»

- In Juprelle, there is nothing to report.Some roads were closed yesterday as a precaution but everything is under control."We went around early this morning. On surveille évidemment les points critiques que nous avons habituellement à Fexhe-Slins et Villers-saint-Siméon, mais jusqu’ici nous n’avons aucune inondation»», explique Christine Servaes, bourgmestre de Juprelle."If everything remains like this and we have no intervention with us, I would write to the mayor of the communes affected to report to them that we make personal and equipment available to help them in cleaning.The least we can do.»»

- In Herstal, there is no problem currently but we expect to have them around noon, on the side of Marexhe and Coronmeuse.As we know, the situation is complicated at the level of Monsin Island and the water could overflow in the districts on the edge of the Meuse."So we have already implemented preventively, a reception center at the Emile Wall Hall in the event that we have to evacuate people.The patrols run on the whole axis along the water to stand ready. Sinon, à part quelques interventions sporadiques hier, il n’y a pas de problème»», commente Jean-Louis Lefèbvre, bourgmestre ff de Herstal.

- In Bassenge, the Geer has not yet come out of his bed but the situation remains disturbing.Several streets, flooded by runoff, had to be closed.These are the streets in front of the courses, of ounce, the banns, frenay nizet and the bridge.

► Update 3 p.m.

Haccourt

If for the moment there is not yet any floods, the next hours will be tense in Haccourt where 700 people, living along the water and nearby, have been evacuated.The Albert canal should reach its peak around 9 p.m., with a speed of 3.000 m3/second. Du jamais vu! « Et malheureusement, il va déborder c’est sûr»», déplore le bourgmestre d’Oupeye Serge Fillot."All the people who were to be evacuated in the area have been.A hundred people are welcomed at the Omnisports Hall of Oupeye and we are preparing a second place of reception at the AAZ refuge in Hermée.»» La commune anticipe en effet d’autres problèmes.If the urgency was to evacuate Haccourt, the dwellings of Vivegnis which are along the canal could also be impacted."But here we are not necessarily talking about evacuation.We are thinking about what to do.Haccourt was urgent since the banks are lower than in Vivegnis.»» On devrait en savoir plus d’ici la fin de cet après-midi.In the meantime, workers fill sand bags and the help of non -affected neighboring municipalities could be requested.

► Update 6 p.m.

Visé and Oupeye: more than 4.000 people doivent évacuer

Due to the rise in water from the Albert canal, whose peak is announced around 9 p.m., people are asked for housing under the level of the canal or the Meuse (left bank) to leave the premises to beput in safety.This evacuation is preventive, since we do not know to what extent these districts will be flooded but it is requested so as not to have to intervene when it is too late.A target, the villages concerned are Lixhe, Lanaye and in front of the nearby 2.000 families.If they do not have the possibility of finding refuge with relatives, a accommodation center is made available to the Omnisports Hall of Visé.Shuttles will be set up to help the inhabitants concerned.Information for target: 04/374.84.10.

In Oupeye, the request is the same for those whose dwelling are under the level of the channel in Hermalle, Haccourt and Vivegnis, more than 2.000 people.The streets concerned are, in Vivegnis: streets of the digue, Jean Jaurès, de la Cité, de l'Etang, behind the hedges, wells, cheratte, cherry colleye, minors, cesar de paepe, was a way,Europe, from the Serenne, Westphal, Wériiet, under the alleys and Joseph Dejardin.In Hermalle, it is requested to evacuate the merchant, bass-hermalle streets, from the water, al’fosse, lane de cork and rue d'Argenteau.In Haccourt, the streets of the Ecluse, Couture, Michel, Taverne and Canal as well as the Quai des Cemenmeries and the bridge ramp have already been evacuated.The rue de Liège is added to it.Evacuated people can find refuge at the Omnisports Hall of Oupeye.Bus shuttles are made available in Vivegnis (Hollandia parking) and Hermalle (parking at the 4-way crossroads or at the back of the Basse-Meuse medical center, next to the clinic).They will bring you to the reception center.A target and Oupeye it is requested to cut the water, gas and electricity;to prepare a bag with the strict necessary;and not forgetting his pets.

Soumagne

"When we speak with old submagnards, they are formal: we have never known that. La commune a quand même souvent été frappée par des inondations, mais là, c’est historique»», commente d’emblée le bourgmestre de la localité, Benjamin Houet.

The latter was able to make a full point of the situation in Soumagne and the news is rather positive.Finally, are we tempted to write with regard to the disasters that occur and situations that are always dramatic, especially in Trooz, Chaudfontaine or Oak, among others.

First of all, all the roads in the town are now open and there are no more flooded axes.However, there are work to clear up gravel and waste in progress.

La Magne is currently in bed and does not come out, which is a very good thing for Soumagne-Vallée.Another positive point, the level of the storm basins which is down: water track (empty), Henri Gardier (3/4 full), rue Pierre Curie (empty) and rue du Moustier (2/3 full).

In order to anticipate possible feedback from the waters, the grids of the storm basins will be cleaned to allow optimal evacuation in the event of a new flood.

The Huy scouts (45 children and accompanying) who lived in the Solmania building are housed at the sports center until Saturday. « Tout se passe très bien et un élan de solidarité s’est mis en place»», commente Benjamin Houet.

The bourgmestre also explains that "the municipal services currently go around the dwellings that have been affected and provide containers for waste in impacted areas.They are in non-inflable places.»» Voici la liste des endroits : Fonds de Gotte (sur le dessus), Pont al Plantche (parking du domaine de Wégimont), Soumagne-Vallée (parking de la Plume) et cour de l’école communale de Soumagne-Vallée.

Since Wednesday evening, no less than 200 municipal interventions were carried out by the services and 1.000 sandbags (40 tonnes) which have been distributed.