At least two producers were seriously damaged in a tornado that struck between Sint-Catheleine-Waver and Putte in Belgium on Wednesday afternoon. According to telephone reports, the palanco suffered significant damage and one grower lost his 40 years’ life’s work in just one minute.
“At 4:33 p.m., a tornado struck. One greenhouse completely collapsed, shifting 2 meters. In the other greenhouse, the glass was completely shattered. The structure collapsed and In other parts, the glass was also missing. The back was also missing.”
This is how grower Paul Houtmyer’s wife Agnes described the damage over the phone, expressing her pain and shock. Miraculously, no one in the company was injured. “I just left the greenhouse 10 minutes ago. There were no staff working. The tomato plants were supposed to arrive today,” she said Thursday.
tornado
Shortly before 5 p.m., a tornado tore through the area, ripping off roofs and scattering debris. According to the city of Sint-Katelin-Wever, the roofs of many homes were torn off over a 4km stretch. Approximately 40 homes were damaged. Two homes have been rendered uninhabitable and the residents are being taken in by their families. As of Thursday morning, Palanco appears to be the most affected horticultural company. In addition, a small greenhouse with half a hectare of cold glass has also been significantly affected.
While some producers are affected, others breathe a sigh of relief. “It was a very local thing,” says a colleague from the area. “One greenhouse was severely damaged, but another greenhouse 500 meters away had no broken glass.”
the glass keeps falling
Insurance company Hagernier visited the grower on Thursday afternoon. Even then, glass continued to fall from the damaged site. By the way, all of the spare glass for the grower also broke.
Drones were already flying over the company, and greenhouse builders had been contacted. According to information received along with the photos, repairs were still not possible as of Thursday due to the danger, and the shattered greenhouse had not yet been cleaned up. “We’re not allowed and we can’t do anything right now. Glass is still falling.” Everything is expected to need to be demolished by the end of Thursday.
“The drive is still there.”
In a video published in Flemish media such as Het Nieuwsblad, grower Paul Houtmyers, wearing a helmet, is briefly filmed inside a greenhouse. He assesses the damage. When I asked him if he still saw a future after 40 years of his life’s work was ruined, he replied: “Yes. In fact, the drive is still there.”
The grower also emphasized his perseverance in an interview with Flemish trade publication Boer & Tinder. There, the grower, who has a lot of help, including colleagues who are helping remove the glass, said greenhouse builders will be installing an emergency facade on the company’s shed on Friday. If freezing temperatures are expected, your heating system may freeze.
This article reveals the exact extent of the damage. Of the 9,600 square meter greenhouse, 7,000 square meters collapsed in a short period of time. Of the 12,600 square meters of the new greenhouse, 4,000 square meters was destroyed in the fire. Paul grows beef tomatoes in the smaller of his two greenhouses and vine tomatoes in the other.
Grower Paul also knows that his colleague Guido Berelst is suffering. Greenhouses were also destroyed there.