Five Years After the Floods, Vesdre Valley Reconstruction Continues

Five years after the catastrophic July 2021 floods that devastated the Vesdre valley in Wallonia, killing 39 people and affecting approximately 100,000 residents, reconstruction efforts remain ongoing across the hardest-hit municipalities. While insurers have closed 99.5% of claims, many public buildings and community facilities are still under construction, highlighting the immense scale of what remains Belgium’s costliest natural disaster.

The Scale of the Catastrophe

The floods of July 13–15, 2021, triggered by extreme rainfall from the stationary low-pressure system “Bernd,” unleashed unprecedented devastation across the province of Liège. According to RTBF, nine of the ten hardest-hit municipalities are in Liège province, including Liège, Verviers, Trooz, Chaudfontaine, and Pepinster.

The Belgian insurance federation Assuralia reported that insurers paid out €2.3 billion across 73,000 claims, with the province of Liège alone accounting for approximately €1.5 billion — nearly two-thirds of the national total. Hein Lannoy, Managing Director of Assuralia, described it as “unprecedented in Belgium,” as reported by RTBF.

Pepinster: Five Years in Temporary Containers

In Pepinster, municipal staff have worked from temporary containers for nearly five years. Florence Doppagne, Director General of the municipality, described the difficult conditions: “These are partitions, so you hear everything. If outside workers are clearing brush, my head feels like a bucket by the end of the day. In summer, it gets very hot very quickly. And in winter, it’s very cold.”

Relief is finally on the horizon. A new administrative building is scheduled to open on September 11, 2026. Christelle Balck, an employee at the population service, said the new facility will be “a very bright place, with much more space” where staff can “welcome citizens with much more ease and privacy.”

The new building incorporates flood-resilient design features, including electrical outlets placed above the 1.5-meter flood level and tiled flooring for quick cleaning after future floods, as explained by Gauthier Rassenfosse of Pepinster’s works department.

Trooz: 150 Years of Work in a Few Years

Trooz suffered 80 to 90 million euros in damage to communal property alone, affecting 15 public buildings. Mayor Fabien Beltran starkly illustrated the challenge: for a normal year, the municipality budgets between €500,000 and €1 million for investment work. “So we have between 150 and 160 years of work ahead to settle in a few years with an extremely small team,” he told RTBF.

Work on the town hall has not yet begun, with construction expected to start in 2027. The new design will feature elevated buildings, a raised pedestrian walkway surrounded by wetlands serving as storm basins, and an underground parking structure designed as a major stormwater retention basin. The site will also be made 25% more permeable.

Mayor Beltran acknowledged the slow pace, noting that small municipal teams must manage complex public procurement procedures while maintaining daily operations. “It takes an extraordinarily long time, but things are progressing little by little,” he said.

Chaudfontaine: Building Back Better

In Chaudfontaine, the Royal Tennis Club is being rebuilt with flood resilience at its core. Jonathan Denis, the club’s secretary, explained that the ground is being raised by one meter, all tennis courts will be in permeable zones, and the building will be equipped with piles to stabilize it in case of flooding. All technical equipment will also be elevated. The club is expected to open in 2027.

Government Coordination and the “Rives” Platform

On June 25, 2026, the Walloon Government launched the “Rives” platform (rives.wallonie.be), an interactive map and information hub for all Vesdre reconstruction projects. As reported by RTL Info, the platform aims to make reconstruction visible and allow citizens to take ownership of the process.

Minister-President of Wallonia Adrien Dolimont outlined the government’s dual approach: “Rebuild and better prepare Wallonia for climate change and the extreme events that are multiplying,” as reported by L’Avenir.

The Walloon Government has allocated €27 million for renovating 25 sports infrastructure damaged in the floods, while Sofico received €13 million in additional funding for storm basin projects. The provincial development agency SPI is acting as project manager for 14 major construction projects launched in 2026.

A Long Road Ahead

Despite significant progress — 99.5% of insurance claims closed and major projects underway — the reconstruction remains a work in progress. The Walloon Government has set a target of 2030 for completion of major reconstruction projects. However, with municipalities like Trooz yet to begin work on their town halls and small administrative teams stretched thin, questions remain about whether this timeline will be met.

As climate scientists warn that extreme precipitation events are becoming more frequent due to a warming atmosphere, the Vesdre valley’s reconstruction offers both a template and a cautionary tale for flood-prone regions across Europe. The “build back better” approach — integrating resilience into every new structure — may prove to be the most enduring legacy of a disaster that forever changed the landscape of Wallonia.