The Walloon Government has ruled on four requests for recognition of public natural disasters relating to phenomena experienced during 2025. Following in-depth technical analyses, two events were recognised as natural disasters.
As a reminder, under the decree of 26 May 2016 on compensation for damage caused by natural disasters, any recognition must be the subject of a decree by the Walloon Government specifying the nature of the phenomenon, the period in which it occurred and its geographical extent.
Requests submitted by the municipalities concerned are assessed on the basis of objective scientific criteria, notably rainfall, flood flow rates, wind speeds and observed damage.
To be recognised, floods must in particular exceed specific rainfall thresholds (35 mm/h or 70 mm/24h) or, in the case of overflow, correspond to a flood with a return period of at least 25 years. Winds must reach 130 km/h or, in the case of a tornado or downburst, cause damage of at least category EF2 on the enhanced Fujita scale.
For the year 2025, four events were examined. These are the following cases:
- Violent winds and floods of 14 and 15 June 2025 in Saint-Léger;
- Violent winds and floods of 2 July 2025 in Namur and Profondeville;
- Floods of 6 July 2025 in Morlanwelz;
- Floods of 23 July 2025 in Jemeppe-sur-Sambre and Sambreville.
Two official recognitions
Following analysis of the files, it emerged that the floods in Morlanwelz exceeded the threshold of 70 mm of rainfall over 24 hours. They are therefore recognised as a public natural disaster. This decision concerns around 30 potential claims from those affected.
The floods in Jemeppe-sur-Sambre and Sambreville also meet the required criteria. They concern 9,312 potential claims, of which 12 in Jemeppe-sur-Sambre and 9,300 in Sambreville.
As for the requests from Saint-Léger, Namur and Profondeville, the analyses showed that the regulatory thresholds were not reached, with rainfall, wind speeds and observed damage remaining below the required criteria. These two cases therefore cannot be recognised as public natural disasters.
Procedures to follow
Once the recognition decrees are published in the Belgian Official Gazette, those affected will have three months to submit a request for repair assistance to the SPW's Regional Disaster Service. This deadline is extended to six months for public-law legal entities and public domain property.
The number of cases to be processed is estimated at around 200, for an estimated total cost of €645,000, financed by the Walloon Natural Disaster Fund. This estimate does not take into account any damage to public property, which will be assessed at a later stage.