Approximately 22 ha of the area was affected in visual terms and 12 ha needed to be cleared up due to damages. The damage to individual buildings was also categorized, revealing a similar pattern. The aerial photographs were taken several days after the disaster, this explains why some ruins have already been pulled down.
The delimitated disaster zones covered 29, 80, 236 ha respectively emergency zone, inner ring and outer ring. The outer ring was appriximately three times as big as Roombeek area. The inner and outer ring - no go areas even for those who lived there - were one by one dismantled after a number of days, while the emergency zone remained shut off for public for over a year. The extent of the damage was estimated at half a billion euros.
An investigation was started in 2000 by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Committee. Their findings show that both SE Fireworks and the local government are responsible for what happened. SE Fireworks was to blame for several reasons:
On the other hand, the local government did not properly check on permits for buildings and activities. More on this subject can be found at the Ministry website.
