Five years on, Verviers and Theux count the flood repairs still undone
Half a decade after the July 2021 Vesdre valley floods, the DH surveys the reconstruction achieved in Verviers and Theux — extensive but unfinished — with damaged bridges, homes and public buildings still awaiting repair as the fifth anniversary passes.
For residents of Verviers, Theux and the wider Vesdre valley, the state of reconstruction determines whether homes, schools and local services are fully restored — and whether the region is protected against a repeat. It is also a measure for all of Wallonia of how long recovery from a major climate-linked disaster realistically takes.
The July 2021 floods (les inondations de 2021) devastated the Vesdre valley in Belgium's Liège province, Wallonia. The worst-affected towns included Verviers, Pepinster, Theux and Limbourg. Belgian authorities recorded 39 deaths nationally. Five years on, La DH (DHnet), RTBF and Le Soir have surveyed the reconstruction — described as "titanic" — noting substantial progress alongside significant unfinished repairs to homes, bridges and public buildings.
Background
The floods of 14–15 July 2021 rank among the deadliest natural disasters in modern Belgian history, killing 39 people nationally, most in Liège province. Torrential rainfall across western Germany, Belgium and neighbouring countries caused catastrophic flooding; in Belgium the Vesdre valley bore the heaviest toll, prompting a multi-year, multi-billion-euro Walloon reconstruction effort overseen by a dedicated reconstruction commissioner.
What to do
Residents awaiting repairs should track municipal and Walloon reconstruction updates; the pace of flood-defence works affects insurance, property and rebuilding decisions across the Vesdre valley.
Impact
Regional — In Verviers and Theux, and across the Vesdre valley including Pepinster and Limbourg, reconstruction is extensive but incomplete: homes have largely been reoccupied and public spaces restored, while some bridges, public buildings and flood-defence works remain unfinished five years after the disaster.
Opposing perspectives
- Vesdre valley residents and homeowners
Many residents and returned homeowners in Verviers and Theux argue that official milestones overstate recovery: they point to homes still awaiting final repairs, unfinished bridges and the strain of navigating insurance settlements and rising building costs, and say daily life has not returned to normal five years after the disaster.
- Walloon reconstruction authorities and municipalities
The Walloon reconstruction commissioner's office and local authorities emphasise the scale of what has been achieved since 2021 — cleared debris, reoccupied homes, restored public spaces — and stress that large flood-defence and river-management projects necessarily run on a longer, multi-year timeline that cannot be compressed to match residents' understandable impatience.
Sources & evidence
- View sourceLa DH (DHnet) — Verviers/TheuxPrimary· dhnet.be· 14 July 2026Retrieved 26 July 2026· 12 days ago· Dated
- View sourceLa DH (DHnet) — Pepinster/Limbourg· dhnet.be· 14 July 2026Retrieved 26 July 2026· 12 days ago· Dated
- View sourceRTBF — inondations de juillet 2021 (coverage)· rtbf.beRetrieved 26 July 2026
- View sourceLe Soir — Vesdre valley reconstruction (coverage)· lesoir.beRetrieved 26 July 2026
