Eastern and Western Flanders have incurred damage after the heavy rain in Belgium this weekend. The northern area of Western Flanders was the most hard hit; particularly the coastal region near Bruges, Veurne and Torhout. A variety of vegetable growers are established in this region; both outside- and greenhouse horticulture companies.
According to Paul Demyttenaere from REO Veiling it is difficult to know exactly what the situation in Western Flanders looks like, "I have learned, from previous situations, that it takes a few days before you can see the big picture. We have received information from growers, and I now know that a greenhouse business was completely destroyed by hail. There are also outdoor growers who grow for the fresh markets and deep freeze who were hit in these regions. Chrysanthemum producers also incurred damage." The chrysanthemum is one of the strongest export products in the Western Flanders region. Approximately 90% of the chrysanths from Western Flanders are exported to other countries. REO Veiling has also been selling potted chrysanths since 2013.
Luc Vanoirbeek, Farmers Association:
According to Luc Vanoirbeek from the Farmers Association, most of the damage reports have come from around Bruges, "Several greenhouses were damaged by hail in the Bruges region. Several outdoor growers have been hit as well. It was all very localized, and the tornado in particular is what caused a lot of the damage."
HLN.be reported that a 3.2 acre greenhouse at Salfra (a horticulture company in Sint-Andries, outside Bruges, Belgium) was hit. The entire greenhouse is littered with glass. Vegetables were not being grown in this greenhouse when it happened, "We were going to start in September by planting lettuce and leeks. Now we won't be able to do that. We have another plot where we can harvest winter leeks, but the loss due to the damage will be huge." The damage is in the hundreds of thousands of Euro.
In Sint-Andries there were hail stones as large as ping-pong balls. The affected municipalities will put together a damage report after the storm passes. They hope to qualify for compensation from the disaster fund.