After cleaning up the rubble in Belgium, the critical questions follow

Meire also emphasizes that drastic measures must be taken in the future in the landscape. Many areas are paved and tiled, which means that the water cannot be absorbed by the ground.

“We have to see our landscape as a buffer for the water. We have now made the landscape very smooth by cutting down trees and by asphalting a lot. We will have to restore the roughness of that landscape,” says Meire.

Rivers don’t respect borders

Another point of improvement, according to experts, is that there should be much better cooperation with national and international water boards. In Belgium, the water boards are divided per region. You have Walloon and Flemish and Brussels water boards.

But rivers do not adhere to these boundaries. The Meuse flows through northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. According to Meire, the cooperation between these water boards is still limited. “It is essential if all water boards at home and abroad start working together.”

In Belgium, the flood seems to have woken everyone up. The Belgian Minister of the Interior has already announced a study into what could be done better in the future. It is clear that the Belgian government will have to invest heavily in the coming years.

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