On Thursday 28 November, the Walloon Government examined a series of files relating to natural disasters affecting various Walloon municipalities between 2022 and 2024. This move aims to catch up on the processing of outstanding claims. Indeed, due to the urgency and scale of the damage caused by the floods of July 2021, the Regional Disaster Service (SRC) had prioritised the files linked to those floods, which caused a significant backlog in the processing of other claims.
During this session, the backlog was cleared up until early July 2024, allowing significant progress on these files.
Summary of the files examined
The Government analysed 14 files from the five Walloon provinces. These files, examined according to the criteria set out in the Walloon Government Decree (AGW), led to the following decisions:
- 8 files were rejected, as the minimum thresholds required in terms of wind speed, rainfall amount or extent of damage were not met.
- 1 file received partial recognition, as certain phenomena were excluded.
- 5 files were fully recognised as natural disasters.
Here is a summary table of the decisions:
| EVENT | MUNICIPALITY(IES) | DECISION |
| Violent winds of February 2022 | Awans, Chapelle-Lez-Herlaimont, La Louvière, Pecq and Tournai | Non-recognition |
| Hailstorm of May 2022 | Ath, Brugelette, Chièvres, Leuze-en-Hainaut, Péruwelz, Rebecq and Silly | Non-recognition |
| Storm of June 2022 | Dalhem | Non-recognition |
| Floods, winds and hail of August 2023 | La Louvière, Oreye, Ottignies, Ramillies and Seneffe | Partial recognition |
| Floods of September 2023 | Fosses-la-Ville | Recognition |
| Storm of November 2023 | La Louvière | Non-recognition |
| Floods of January 2024 | Bouillon and Chiny | Recognition |
| Heavy rainfall of February 2024 | Thuin | Non-recognition |
| Floods of 12 May 2024 | Chaumont-Gistoux, Gembloux and Walhain | Recognition |
| Flood of 17 and 18 May 2024 | Aubel, Beyne-Heusay, Blegny, Chaudfontaine, Dalhem, Esneux, Grez-Doiceau, Hannut, Herve, Liège, Olne, Pepinster, Thimister-Clermont, Trooz, Visé, Wasseiges and Welkenraedt | Recognition |
| Floods of 29-31 May 2024 | Comblain-au-Pont, Theux | Non-recognition |
| Floods of 18 June 2024 | Hannut | Non-recognition |
| Floods of 29 and 30 June 2024 | Aubange | Recognition |
| Tornado and winds of 9 July 2024 | Durbuy | Non-recognition |
Procedure for the recognition of a natural disaster
For an exceptional event to be recognised as a natural disaster, several steps must be followed:
- Notification by mayors: The mayors of the municipalities concerned must submit a recognition request within one month of the event (a simple form to fill in)
- Technical report: CORTEX (Risk Coordination and Expertise Transfer Centre), together with the Royal Meteorological Institute (IRM) and other regional services, draws up a report. This analysis makes it possible to check whether the recognition criteria set out in the AGW of 21 July 2016 are met.
- Walloon Government Decree: If the criteria are met, a decree is proposed by the Minister-President to the Walloon Government. This decree defines the geographical and time scope and the nature of the recognised phenomena.
- Submitting compensation claims: Once the recognition decree has been published in the Belgian Official Gazette, victims have:
- 3 months to submit their claimto the SRC for individuals.
- 6 months for public authorities.
Note that the public disaster fund only intervenes for movable and immovable property that is not covered under a simple risk insurance policy.
Towards improved procedures
“As part of the Simplification Pact, the Walloon Government is committed to reviewing the legal framework to speed up procedures and enable faster compensation for victims. The aim is to ensure better responsiveness and smoother processing of future claims”, says Minister-President Adrien Dolimont.