Extreme Weather Triggers Severe Flooding in Voeren

Brussels (Brussels Morning) – After extreme weather, Voeren in Limburg faced severe flooding, causing power outages and evacuations. Emergency services worked tirelessly as water levels rose. The situation remains critical, with ongoing monitoring and expected relief by Saturday morning.

The first reports of persistent rainfall in Voeren came in on Friday evening. From around 6 p.m., both the municipal services and the Voeren fire brigade, together with reinforcements from Hoeselt and Bilzen, did everything they could to keep the water out of the houses. Initially, the problems were centred around the Veurs river, which had overflowed its banks. This caused flooding in Sint-Martens-Voeren and the hamlet of Veurs. The streets were also flooded in the hamlet of Schophem.

Over the next few hours, things went from bad to worse. Sint-Pieters-Voeren, ‘s Gravenvoer and finally Teuven also had to swallow a lot of water. The municipality hopes that the widening works that were carried out just after the flood three years ago will prove useful.

How Did Extreme Weather Impact Voeren Residents?

Around 8 p.m. the situation was so critical that a family in Sint-Martens-Voeren had to be evacuated. Access to the church village was also closed. In the meantime, the water in some houses was already up to half a meter high. Mayor Joris Gaens (Voerbelangen) at 9 p.m.: “The emergency services and municipal services have been working for hours. But the situation is serious. Just like in our neighbouring municipalities. The municipal crisis plan has been announced.”

“These are the worst floods in the history of Voeren,” Gaens responds. “Some residents have water that is chest high in their homes, which is terrible to experience.” To make matters worse, Moelingen-Centrum had to deal with a general power outage, which has still not been resolved. The E25 was closed in both directions because it was flooded.

Due to the high water levels, detached gas tanks in Voeren floated, causing gas to be released. The municipality issued the following advice: “If there is a gas smell inside the house, residents are asked to open windows and doors. If there is no gas smell inside the house, but it is possible outside, residents should keep windows and doors closed.”

How Are Authorities Responding to Voeren’s Flood Crisis?

The municipality points out that water will continue to flow from Wallonia to Voeren in the coming hours. “We are monitoring this closely and, in addition to the large-flow pumps, we have also requested additional water rescue teams for assistance.” The water level is expected to drop again from Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, the centre of Moelingen, a sub-municipality of Voeren, is hit by an electricity outage. Grid operator Fluvius is on-site, but the problem can only be repaired when the water has receded sufficiently. The breakdown will probably last until the morning, the municipality reports.

As a result of the flooding, the E25 motorway near Voeren is closed in both directions.

Weatherman Ruben Weytjens: “A huge amount of precipitation has fallen in and around Voeren. Regionally, more than 100 liters/m² fell. Considering that a lot of precipitation has fallen recently and more has now fallen upstream, I understand that the situation is quite worrying.” But Weytjens also has ‘good news’. “There is no new precipitation on the way for the time being. There could only be new showers locally on Saturday after 5 p.m., but Voeren may be spared from them.”