Torhout Mayor Defends Cancellation of 'Nacht van Vlaanderen' Due to Storm Risk

Torhout Mayor Kristof Audenaert defended his decision to cancel the Nacht van Vlaanderen, a popular running and walking event, citing predicted thunderstorms. The cancellation sparked criticism on social media over the weekend.

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For something like this, you don't go into politics, of course.

Audenaert explained that the decision was made after receiving a message from the governor's office around 10 p.m. directing the closure of all parks and forests. He sought additional information from provincial and weather services, noting that two weather models raised alarms while one did not.

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We had to make a decision beforehand, and we did so with the best intentions.

"We had to make a decision beforehand, and we did so with the best intentions," Audenaert stated. He acknowledged that the storm ultimately caused little damage in Torhout, making the situation worse as it was ideal running weather. However, he emphasized the unpredictable nature of severe weather and pointed to the significant damage caused by the storm in the Kortrijk region as justification for not taking the risk with 12,000 participants in and around wooded areas.

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And when we see how badly the thunderstorm hit the Kortrijk region, we could not take this risk with 12,000 people running and walking in and along forests.