National mourning in Belgium after floods

At 12 o’clock the sirens sounded from the country’s rescue services before there was a minute’s silence.

The death toll from heavy rains and subsequent floods last week could rise to 100 in Belgium. In recent days, newspapers and TV broadcasts have been full of pictures of the destruction and clean-up work that is underway.

Documentary filmmaker Thierry Michel tells the newspaper Le Soir that he has lost hundreds of hours of unique footage from Congo. He was also close to losing his wife Christine. She got away from the rising water at the last minute.

– If not, I could have been one of those the police are still looking for, she says.

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