Scenes of destruction gripped the Belgian city of Dinant on Sunday, following intense but localized thunderstorms that unleashed torrents of mud, sweeping away cars and damaging rail tracks before the eyes of residents who are attempting to cope with their plight and rebuild their city.
On Philippeville Street, residents armed with shovels and brooms cleaned the roads of mud that invaded parking lots, ground floors, and basements after a severe storm hit the region in the southern Namur province on Saturday evening. These images recall the devastating floods that struck the neighboring Liège province ten days ago, which claimed 37 lives, according to the National Crisis Center on Sunday.
Parked vehicles were swept down the street, coming to a halt at bends, and sidewalks were demolished due to a mudslide, exposing buried wires. Jacques Hermant, a resident visibly affected, said, "I saw a mass of water reaching a meter high sweeping everything in its path. I was afraid for my 89-year-old mother who lives across the street; the power went out, and we couldn't see anything."
"We've never seen anything like it." The flood carried away his car, which had shattered windows and punctured tires, much like other vehicles. This retired man, still without water, added mournfully, "Going on vacation? I don't want to do that anymore."
Brigitte Croquet, who was born in this town famous for its castle and cliffs, remarked, "We are used to the rising water level of the Meuse River, but for the water to flow into the streets of the highlands... this is unimaginable." She continued, "A severe thunderstorm accompanied by hail hit. We were attending a football match, and the artificial ground of the stadium slipped. In Dinant, the mud was overwhelming; we've never seen anything like this."
She added in a sorrowful outburst, "Our town is so beautiful; it cannot suffer because of the weather conditions." On Sunday morning, a crane was used to remove stones and branches from the railways to allow technicians to assess the extent of the damage in this section connecting Dinant and Namur. Claudio Galteri, a technician from the Belgian Railway Company, stated, "I've never seen this in 20 years."
No fatalities or injuries have been reported from this storm, which affected ten municipalities in the Meuse River Valley, including Namur. In Dinant, some residents were forced to leave their homes. Community solidarity was evident, as volunteers from the city and other places, including a woman distributing sweets and drinks, stepped up to help.
Belgium declared a national day of mourning on July 20 for the victims of the unprecedented floods that devastated parts of the country on July 14 and 15. European leaders attributed the heavy rains that lasted for several days to climate change.
