China News Agency, Brussels, July 30 (Reporter De Yongjian) Nearly half a month after the fatal flood in Belgium, the Belgian prosecutors decided to launch a criminal investigation into the flood. At the same time, as the police found the body of a victim, as of July At least 42 people died in the Belgian floods on the 29th.
According to reports from Belgian "Standard" and many other media on the 29th, as the most severely affected province, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Liege, Belgium, decided to launch a criminal investigation into the floods, in particular, it will investigate whether the early warning system failed, which caused a large number of casualties in the floods.
Recently, the Belgian media has pointed the finger at the early warning system.
The Belgian "Latest News" reported last week that the Belgian authorities received 25 severe weather warnings on the eve of the floods from July 14th to 15th, but the authorities seemed indifferent until the floods struck.
Regarding the upcoming criminal investigation, the "Standard" quoted the Liege prosecutor as saying that the move was not because someone reported it, but the Liege Public Prosecutor's Office took the initiative. The investigation does not mean that the prosecution believes that the authorities are responding to the flood. There was negligence, but out of respect for the victims and their families, a fair and independent investigation of the flood disaster was conducted.
On the other hand, the Belgian Dutch-speaking national radio and television station reported on the 29th that the police found the body of a missing man in Verviers, Liège province. So far the death toll caused by the Belgian floods has risen to 42.
According to the report, the whereabouts of a missing woman is still unknown, and the police are doing all they can to search for; although the woman’s hope of surviving is extremely slim as time goes by, the authorities still classify her as a "missing person" and hope to give her family an account.
From July 14th to 15th, due to continuous heavy rains, heavy floods occurred in most parts of Belgium's Wallonia region (the region of Liege) and parts of Flanders. Many rivers have peaks and many places have been flooded. Among them, Liege Province was the most severely affected. All trains in the province were temporarily shut down and all railway stations were closed. The provincial capital Liege City required residents to evacuate and avoid danger, and all shops were forced to close.
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