Update
A fierce lightning strike caused a devastating fire in the Langvennestraat in Kuringen (Hasselt) last night. The fire broke out on the roof around 3 a.m. and spread rapidly. Despite the quick intervention of the fire brigade, the entire building was destroyed.
Regional journalist at HLN
Source: Own reporting, Belga
The impact of the lightning strike was enormous. In no time the flames broke through the roof and the entire house was ablaze. The fire brigade immediately rushed to the scene, but could not prevent the house from completely burning down. The contents have been largely destroyed and the building has been declared uninhabitable. Fortunately, the residents were not at home at the time of the impact, so no injuries were reported.
Busy night for emergency response zone
The South-West Limburg emergency response zone had its hands full due to the fierce thunderstorm. In addition to a serious fire in Alken due to lightning, the fire brigade also had to respond to lightning strikes on an electricity box on the border of Tessenderlo and Ham, and in Zepperen (Sint-Truiden). Fortunately, in the last two cases the damage was limited.
Fire department spokeswoman Gretel Kerkhofs says that the zone has received a total of 20 to 25 thunderstorm-related calls since Saturday evening. In addition to the lightning strikes, the storm caused some local nuisance. The fire brigade had to clear broken branches and fallen trees from the road at fifteen locations throughout the zone, and intervened in three places to pump out flooded streets.
