Management and impact of the 2021 mega-flood in the east of Belgium

In July 2021, parts of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were hit by severe flooding caused by the Bernd low pressure system. In Belgium, the Vesdre river basin, the most affected area, had experienced recurrent summer droughts in the four years prior to the flooding (2017-2020). This seminar will provide an overview of how this rare hydro-meteorological event, combined with unfavourable antecedent conditions in the catchment and a lack of risk awareness and preparedness, likely exacerbated by the prolonged drought, contributed to the disaster. The four years of unprecedented drought had also raised water scarcity as a key concern for policy makers. The seminar will examine the role of two large multi-purpose reservoirs in the upper Vesdre catchment and provide detailed analyses of flood-related damage and economic losses in the residential sector, which was most severely affected. The findings underline the need to strengthen the coping capacities of citizens and to better integrate flood and drought risk management strategies.