LIVE FLOODING. Water level on IJzer has fallen further, intense rain zones expected today | Instagram VTM NEWS

In the De Zonnegloed animal shelter More than 40 animals have been evacuated since the water disaster began. In the reception area, some public areas were even converted into stables for donkeys and llamas, among other things. “We hope that the water actually starts to recede.”

Noordschote, a village in the Westhoek with 396 inhabitants, has been almost completely cut off from the outside world in recent days due to heavy rain. The water even reached the center and all access roads – one remained vacant – were flooded. And yet: Greet Demeyer (70) and Jean-Paul Loockx (64) moved from Flemish Brabant to Noordschote five years ago, but are not thinking about leaving again. “Water or not: it is nice to live here.”

“Fortunately, no weddings or anniversaries were planned this weekend, because everything is still about the water,” says the mayor. Lies Laridon (CD&V) from Diksmuide. The provincial crisis meeting has been taking place in her city for a week, but Lies is also a mother of two children. “I have difficulty calling my son who has just taken his first exam in civil engineering. That gnaws.”

The water levels on the IJzer fell further during the night from Friday to Saturday. According to Waterinfo, this is ten centimeters compared to Friday evening. It remains to be seen what influence Saturday’s new precipitation zone will have in the Westhoek.

Common sense or not? Dredge the IJzer, pump out more water and do something about those water levels. We heard this every day last week from residents and farmers in the flooded Westhoek. But are they also the right solutions? “Not always,” answers hydrologist Patrick Willems. We present him with the most frequently heard solutions. What is feasible and what would cause more problems? “We can address it, but not in the way most people think.”

Westhoek fire brigade noted Friday night no additional interventions in the context of flooding. “The water levels are slowly decreasing,” says spokesperson Kristof Louagie. “It has started raining again since 7 o’clock.”

“Farmers and horticulturists affected by water damage this week must be able to rely on force majeure.” Lode Ceyssens, the chairman of the Boerenbond, said this during a visit to affected agricultural companies in Noordschote (Lo-Reninge) and Watou (Poperinge). The force majeure arrangement should allow the affected farmers to be spared “a mountain of administrative hassle”, it is said.

A fairly intense rain zone will move through our country from the west on Saturday. It will remain dry for a few hours in the morning over the center and the east. The maximum temperatures fluctuate between 5 or 6 degrees in the High Fens, 9 to 11 degrees in the center and 12 or 13 degrees at the sea. There is a moderate wind blowing from the south, veering towards the south-southwest. In the afternoon the wind can become quite strong here and there with peaks around 50 km/h, the RMI said on Saturday morning.

Thanks to the drier period, water levels in the Westhoek continue to drop. However, the situation is still too precarious to allow the evacuated residents to return home. Rain is expected again on Saturday, although according to the latest forecasts a smaller amount will fall than previously predicted.

Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) wants an action plan to combat flooding in the Westhoek and “to avoid such disasters in the future as much as possible”. Peeters does not rule out expropriations. “I know it is painful, but we also did it in Maasland,” she said at VTM NIEUWS.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo wants better agreements with France about preventing flooding. He said this on Friday at a press conference after the cabinet meeting. “There is a good chance that this type of phenomenon will occur more often in the future. We must prepare,” said De Croo.

There seems to be no end to the heavy rain. But what do we already know about the coming winter months? Will we continue to fight against wind and rain? And will we have a mild winter, or not? VTM weatherman David Dehenauw prefers not to make long-term predictions, but for once he makes an exception. “Because the last time the weather models were this clear, the summer heat wave in 2022 became a fact.”

Day 12 of the flooding in the Westhoek is almost over. Just like the 12th day in a row that firefighters are working around the clock in Poperinge fill sandbags. “There are more than 55,000 so far, good for 1,100 pallets and almost 850 tons of sand,” it says. “Our family life? That is currently on the back burner, for a good cause. But maybe we should give our women a bouquet of flowers as a gift.”

“Lonely? No. My refrigerator is full and my wife will definitely come back.” Guido Deruytter (85) is currently all alone — even his dog was evacuated — on his farm in Oostvleteren, surrounded by water. However, the retired farmer is not thinking about leaving his property. However, his wife Paula chose to be safe and moved in with one of the daughters. “If things do get out of hand, I will still pack my bags.”

A warm gesture from W’IJzer primary school in Diksmuide. On Friday afternoon, the students came to the fire station with a cartload of goodies and beautiful things. All students, from preschool to sixth grade, contributed to the beautiful gift.

The floods in the Westhoek lead to strange island situations. This is also the case with Chantal from Lo-Reninge. Her house has become completely surrounded by water in recent days. Chantal has already been evacuated, but the fire brigade is now going to check how high the water is in her house.

Read more: Fire brigade checks abandoned house of Chantal from Lo-Reninge that is surrounded by water

“The many flooded and blocked roads ensure limited accessibility to the region, with additional traffic only causing even more problems for our emergency services. Help us and don’t become a disaster tourist,” it sounds clear.

The flood in the Westhoek will probably be recognized as a disaster by the Flemish Government. Prime Minister Jan Jambon announced this today.

“All indicators indicate that the water misery is reaching exceptional proportions. Everything is therefore being set in motion to process the applications of people who have suffered damage as quickly as possible. We want to ensure that victims can be compensated as quickly as possible “The RMI, the Flemish Environment Agency and the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory have been asked to concretely determine the precise scale of the disaster in view of the recognition,” it said.

In addition, the Flemish Government will also set to work a task force, consisting of experts from the Flemish Government and from the actors on the ground (province, dike councilor, etc.). It must make proposals within a month to avoid such disasters in the future as much as possible.