With boots and armed with shovels and brooms, the residents of rue de Philippeville cleaned up the mud that invaded garages, ground floors and basements after a violent storm, on Saturday night, in this town in the province of Namur ( south).
Scenes reminiscent of devastating floods ten days ago in neighboring Liège province That left 37 dead, according to a new assessment from the crisis center. They had also affected Dinant due to a flood from the Meuse, but with much less force.
Parked cars raced down the sloping street like "projectiles" and got stuck at a level crossing. Sidewalks were ripped apart by the torrent of mud, exposing wiring, raised pavement, and cobblestones washed away. It is the runoff water, not having been absorbed higher up by an already very soggy terrain, that has invaded the street.
"I've never seen that"
“I saw a body of water more than a meter high arrive that took everything on board. I was scared for my 89-year-old mother who lives across the street. There was no more electricity. We couldn't cross the street, ”says one resident, Jacques Hermant, with sobs in his voice. His car, with broken windows and flat tires, was dragged like the others. "Go on vacation? I don't want to," adds the retiree, still deprived of running water.
"We are used to seeing the Meuse rise, but the water runs through the streets from above ... It is unthinkable," says Brigitte Crouquet, a native of this tourist town known for its citadel and cliffs.
“There was a big hail storm. We were at a soccer game, the synthetic field was everywhere. In Dinant, the mud was rolling, we had never seen that, ”he continues. "Our city is too beautiful, it cannot be damaged by weather incidents," she indignantly, her voice broken.
Considerable damage
This Sunday morning, a crane was clearing stone tracks and piling up branches to allow technicians to assess the extent of the damage with a mud-covered ballast on this stretch that connects Dinant with Namur.
“I have never seen this in 20 years. The ballast helps to stabilize the track, the mud has a spring effect ”, explains Claudio Gualtieri, Infrabel technician, infrastructure manager of the Belgian railways.
Although localized, the damage is considerable. “We are going to do temporary work to fill the roads. We look forward to the help of the Walloon government. It will cost very, very expensive, ”said a deputy mayor in orange jumpsuit, Robert Closset.
No deaths or injuries were reported in this stormy episode that affected a total of ten municipalities in the Meuse Valley, including Namur. In Dinant, some neighbors have had to leave their homes.
Once again, solidarity is in full swing: residents are helped by volunteers who have come from the city but also from further afield, like this woman who came to bring croissants and pains au chocolat.
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