The rise in the Meuse River in Liege, eastern Belgium, today forced authorities to advise thousands of coastal residents to leave their homes if possible, citing an “exceptional crisis situation.”
“They are encouraged to move to the upper part of Liege. If evacuation is no longer possible, citizens are advised not to go upstairs and take risks, ”the authorities said in a media release in the afternoon. The Wallonia region estimates that the water level “could rise 1.50 meters above the current level in the next few hours.”
Liege, with about 200,000 inhabitants, is the fourth most populous city in Belgium, and the areas affected by the evacuation are Coronmeuse, Saint-Leonard, Autremeuse and the city center. “The flooding in Liege will be very dangerous,” the president of the Wallonia region, former Prime Minister Elio di Rupo, warned the regional parliament today.
The Meuse, near Liege, is a tributary to the vast majority of rivers in southern and eastern Belgium.
These rivers, especially the Urt and Vesdre, have significantly increased their flow due to the heavy rains of the last few days.
Municipalities bordering these rivers have been flooded since Wednesday in the Liege and Verviers regions, in particular Te, Pepinster and Spa.
Most of the city of Angler, on the border with Liege, on the banks of the Urth, was also flooded.
The floods in the country have killed at least six people, including four in the only region of Verviers in the east of the country, according to Belgian media reports.
The authorities can relocate thousands of people.
