Belgium Marks Five Years Since Catastrophic 2021 Floods

Communities across eastern Belgium are commemorating the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic July 2021 floods that killed 39 people in Wallonia, affected more than 100,000 others, and caused nearly €3 billion in damage. Memorial services were held on 14 July across the Vesdre valley, from Eupen in the German-speaking Community to Chaudfontaine and other hard-hit towns, as the nation reflected on one of its worst natural disasters in modern history.

The Disaster and Its Toll

The floods of 13-15 July 2021 were triggered by a stationary low-pressure system that dumped extreme rainfall across Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. In Belgium, measuring stations in Jalhay recorded 271.5 mm of rain over 48 hours — nearly triple the average monthly rainfall for July, according to The Brussels Times. The Vesdre river and its tributaries burst their banks, unleashing devastating floods through the valley.

The worst-hit town was Pepinster, where seven people died and multiple buildings collapsed at the confluence of the Vesdre and Hoegne rivers. Across the border in Germany, 184 people lost their lives, primarily in the Ahr valley.

Commemorations Across the Valley

On Tuesday, the day of commemoration began in Eupen, the first town hit when the Vesdre and Helle rivers burst their banks during the night of 14 to 15 July. Local officials gathered alongside members of the German-speaking and Walloon governments and European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib. Eupen mayor Thomas Lennertz led a commemorative walk through the streets that were devastated by the floodwaters, using photographs to show the reconstruction work carried out since.

Oliver Paasch, head of the government of the German-speaking Community, noted that €25 million in aid had been provided to affected municipalities, allowing public infrastructure to be repaired. However, he warned that “absolute safety does not exist” and that extreme weather events will become more frequent, calling on every level of government to do everything possible to reduce risk, as reported by The Brussels Times.

After leaving Eupen, the delegation travelled to Limbourg, Verviers, Trooz, Theux, Esneux, and Chaudfontaine — other towns along the Vesdre valley where the floodwaters continued their destructive path.

Lingering Trauma and Recent Flooding

Five years on, the psychological scars remain. In Aiseau-Presles, a community hit by the 2021 floods and again by a severe storm on 30 May 2026, residents told RTBF of their enduring trauma. Cindy, a resident of Presles, described having 88 centimetres of mud in her house and said her one-and-a-half-year-old son would have drowned had he been standing. “I worked through it in therapy because I think it’s a trauma,” she said. “Little by little, it fades. But it’s true that when there’s a little too much rain, it’s always worrying.”

Carl, a resident of Aiseau, recalled water reaching the ceiling in barely half an hour. “Today we still fear reliving this nightmare whenever it rains,” he said. The municipality has since consolidated riverbanks, raised dikes, and purchased water barriers, but alderman Jean-Pierre Deprez acknowledged: “We make ourselves ready, but we can never fully confront the unleashed elements.”

The Vesdre Reconstruction Plan

The Walloon Region commissioned a €1.2 million strategic study of the Vesdre basin, published in 2023, covering 703 km² and 25 communes. The plan includes 10 recommendations, such as restoring the High Fens as a natural sponge, increasing soil permeability, and limiting hillside urbanisation. However, implementation has been slow.

Walloon Minister François Desquesnes has now made the plan’s recommendations binding on municipal development plans, RTBF reported. “The Region will refuse a municipal development plan that does not respect these principles,” Desquesnes said, describing it as “a form of territorial solidarity between upstream or hilltop communities toward those in the valley bottom.”

Valérie Dejardin, Mayor of Limbourg, decided to demolish an entire neighbourhood to create a green space where water can overflow without damaging the rest of the city. “It’s a difficult decision to make and explain to the population,” she said, warning that construction upstream undermines such efforts.

Climate Change and Future Risks

Scientists have firmly linked the 2021 floods to climate change. A World Weather Attribution study published in August 2021 found that global warming, then at about 1.2°C above pre-industrial levels, increased the likelihood of such an event by 1.2 to 9 times and rainfall intensity by 3% to 19%, according to The Brussels Times.

A 2025 study by the University of Liège and the Royal Meteorological Institute found that the strongest rainfall events with a 20-year return period become around 7% more intense in Belgium for every degree of global warming. Climatologist Nicolas Ghilain noted that global warming is now at about 1.4°C to 1.5°C, with projections of 2°C to 3°C by 2100.

Ongoing Challenges

Despite progress, significant challenges remain. A controversial social housing project in Nessonvaux plans to build in a zone where water rose over two metres in 2021, with experts warning it violates the Walloon Region’s own construction guidelines for flood zones. Meanwhile, flood hazard maps still date from April 2021 and do not include data from the July 2021 floods; updated maps are not expected until 2027.

Experts are calling for a steering committee to coordinate reconstruction across the 25 communes, citing a lack of dialogue between upstream and downstream communities. As architect Etienne Schillers put it: “Everything done upstream has an impact downstream.”

Looking Ahead

As Belgium marks this somber anniversary, the question is not whether another extreme flood will come, but when — and whether the lessons of 2021 will translate into meaningful action before the next disaster strikes.