Hydrologist: “A few hundred locations in Flanders that are vulnerable to flooding, such as in the Westhoek”

It is also a coincidence that it is now the Westhoek that is affected, it has simply rained a lot there. “Many places in Flanders are vulnerable to this type of flooding, at least a few hundred locations throughout Flanders. Just think downstream along the Leie and the Upper Scheldt, the entire Dender valley, along the Demer, the Diest area…”

Willems therefore advocates that we better protect ourselves against this. “If you consider that we will increasingly have to deal with these types of phenomena and that there are many risk points in Flanders, then we need to hold back, buffer, and buffer the water upstream (that is, where the water starts to flow) much more. If you slow down the water, it will arrive much more slowly in the river valley downstream, it will become more flattened and you will get those high levels less quickly. We also have to restore the natural flood areas along river valleys. In many places this is no longer possible because has been built, but there are still many places where you can restore that natural buffer capacity.”