The Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) issued a new code orange for the coastline on Monday morning. The storm surge warning, which means abnormal sea level rise, also applies to the Coast and the Sea Scheldt, meteorologist David Dehenauw reported on Twitter.
The weather will be very turbulent and changeable on Monday, with some sunny spells and many cloudy fields, carrying locally intense showers. The wind will blow strong, so that gusts will reach values of 80 to 100 km/h in the interior of the country, even up to 110 km/h on the coast and even 120 km/h very locally, according to forecasts from the Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM). An orange alert has been issued for the Coast, meteorologist David Dehenauw warned on Twitter.
In the rest of the country, the yellow code remains in force, with gusts that can reach 80 to 100 km / h. “A storm surge is also forecast on the Belgian Coast and at the Sea Scheldt. We are forecasting a high water level in Ostend by the end of the afternoon.“, according to Mr. Dehenauw. “Tonight there will also be high water levels along the Zeeschelde river.” “New estimates will be made in the morning and the evolution of the tides will be closely monitored along the east coast of the United Kingdom, from where the wave of tides coming to the Belgian Coast and the Sea Scheldt comes from”, concluded the meteorologist. Sand cliffs on Belgian beaches could form, concluded the meteorologist.
Infrabel expects a rush hour without too many problems on the rail
The infrastructure manager Infrabel does not expect major disruptions to rail traffic on Monday morning after the passage of storm Franklin. “Passengers should however take into account occasional small slowdowns or cancellations of trains, but there are no more speed limit restrictions”, spokesperson Frédéric Petit confirmed to Belga on Monday at dawn.
The speed of the trains had been limited to 80 km / h on Sunday evening in the provinces for which the IRM had issued an orange warning to the winds, in Flanders and in Hainaut in the south of the country. Two incidents were reported on the rail on Sunday evening, in the province of East Flanders. In addition, the line between Brussels and Ghent experienced delays. But for Monday morning’s rush hour, Infrabel no longer expects major problems. “It seems to be going well for the moment”, according to Mr. Petit. “Speed limits no longer apply and it looks like traffic should be normal. However, travelers should take into account small slowdowns here and there, or train cancellations”.
Traffic can be slowed down in this respect in Tournai due to roof sections on the tracks. It is also interrupted between Puurs and Boom in the province of Antwerp, due to the high water level of a local river. Trees on the tracks or threatening to obstruct them also prevent traffic between Ronse and Oudenaerde and between Aalst and Burst.
SNCB has provided replacement buses there. High-speed trains between Antwerp and the Netherlands are also being diverted via the classic railway line at the request of the Netherlands. “These incidents demonstrate that rail traffic can still be disrupted locally”, underlined Mr. Petit. The manager is therefore counting on a rush hour without too many problems, but remains at the mercy of the consequences of the storm. Infrabel also specifies that its teams are ready to act quickly in the event of any problems posed by Franklin.
A hundred interventions requested in Walloon Brabant for storm damagee
The Walloon Brabant rescue zone recorded around a hundred calls for help due to a new windy episode that occurred overnight from Sunday to Monday, we learned from a zonal dispatcher. The Walloon Brabant firefighters from the Braine-l’Alleud, Jodoigne, Nivelles and Wavre stations were in high demand after the passage of storm Franklin. Only the Tubize region seems to have been relatively spared. The cutting and clearing of trees and branches littering the roads, the management of threatening trees, the removal of tiles about to come off damaged roofs constitute most of the missions in progress since Monday at dawn.. “There were no injuries or major incidents”, however, specified a dispatcher from the Walloon Brabant relief zone, Monday morning at the Belga agency. This new windy episode occurred three days after storm Eunice, whose passage through Walloon Brabant required more than 500 firefighter interventions.
About fifty interventions for firefighters in the province of Liège
Firefighters from different areas of the province of Liège intervened around fifty times following the passage of storm Franklin, during the night of Sunday to Monday, they indicate. In the Huoise region, firefighters intervened around midnight in Bas-Oha, in the town of Wanze, for a residential roof that completely blew away following strong gusts of wind. The family living in the house were not injured and have already been relocated.
In the rest of the province, firefighters mainly carried out interventions for fallen branches on the road and for tiles that flew away. In total, they intervened about fifty times. As a security measure, the parks and cemeteries of the city of Liège will remain closed until Tuesday morning, indicated the Liège police zone.