In a recent interview with RTL Radio, Jean-Paul Lickes from the Water Management Authority explained that once-in-a-century floods, such as the ones that ravaged the country in July 2021, are more likely to occur every 30 years.
Municipal officials from Mersch are more than aware of the dangers. About 400 local houses were submerged by the floods on 15 July last year. Damages on municipal buildings are estimated to amount to €3.5 million.
Malherbe took our colleagues on a tour through Mersch and showed how some of the oldest buildings already considered flood risks in their construction, with no basements and steps leading up to an elevated ground floor: “People were already cautious 100 years ago. Today however, we have building plans that allow people to construct houses along the rivers, and it will be difficult to reverse such a decision without provoking legal challenges.”
Members of the Mersch municipal council have already met with officials from the Water Management Authority to discuss potential solutions to the problem.
Malherbe further explained that the Ministry for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development did not approve their plans to naturalise the river beds, but rather made a counterproposal which the council in return refused.
