Final Blog
Of the hazards we’ve learned this semester, the first I would address in the Netherlands would be their floods. This is mostly because floods are one of the most prominent hazards in the Netherlands, with a potentially damaging and life-threatening flood expected to occur at least once in the next ten years. An estimated 26% of the country is below mean sea level, with 60% of those same regions being vulnerable to floods from the North Sea, rivers, and lakes. Further, within these flood-prone areas, 60% of the population (approx. 17 million people) are at risk of facing hazards that the floods bring. Most notably, these floods occur after severe rainfall in the delta of the rivers close to populated areas.
To mitigate the effects of flooding, I would suggest that the country maintains its current water management and flood defense system. Considered to have the highest safety standards worldwide, the Netherlands’ water and flood management relies on dikes built high and strong enough to prevent damages caused by severe floods. Additionally, I would fund the Netherlands’ adaptive urban construction projects and the KNMI’s (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) weather monitoring program and forecasting services. These adaptive measures include building plazas that fill up with and retain rainwater for long periods of time, underground reservoirs being integrated into new housing projects, and eco-building with green roofs, which would collect rainwater. Regarding the KNMI, I would advise that they continue to encourage the public to sign up for flood notifications, make preparations for themselves, their families, and their homes for floods by reinforcing their homes, make emergency kits, pack supplies, and make plans should they need to evacuate or not be able to stay at home. As for places where I would target these efforts, I would focus on populated regions near the Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, and Ems rivers since they are known to be most prone to flooding.
The second hazard I would attempt to mitigate are the country’s droughts. Although the country is known to struggle with flooding, droughts have become a concern with the rapid changes in climate due to global warming. Throughout the Spring and Fall, incoming heat waves pose a problem, as they bake away snow that is meant to feed into the country’s water sources, such as rivers. Water has been so scarce in the Netherlands that people have been illegally siphoning from ponds and other water sources to maintain themselves and their livelihoods. On top of that, it’s been difficult to stave citizens, especially farmers, off the adaptations and habits they’ve developed because of centuries of dealing with flooding.
To mitigate the effects of drought, I would advise that the Netherlands’ city planners, water boards, and researchers collaborate to devise measures and policies that would support their current efforts. Most of the country’s efforts have been adaptive, with planners and boards building undulations into grassy areas to catch rainwater, establishing annual tile-ripping contests to expose permeable earth, and adding bends to brooks and streams so water doesn’t run off as quickly. As for preventative measures, it would be ideal to establish an educational program through the Dutch water institute to teach people about the effects of drought and why it is important to follow measures that are enforced in drought season rather than following flooding measures year-round. As many advisors have, I would advise the Netherlands to take bolder and potentially riskier steps to develop the proper mitigation strategies, such as investing in more extensive research on rewetting the country’s marshlands, how to treat brackish water, and re-adapting their water infrastructure for their worsening conditions. To best address the drought, I would focus these efforts in the east, southwest, and northwest since these regions show the most severe signs of drought, like in Enschede.
Because of the country’s size, it is difficult to avoid the effects of both the effects of flooding and drought. According to ThinkHazard, river, coastal, and urban flooding is experienced throughout the country; however, urban flooding is less severe in the regions of Drenthe, Overijssel, Limburg, and Zeeland. I would also be wary of building or living in areas that are too near to the Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, and Ems rivers since the effects of flooding are known to be most severe there. Regarding where to go to avoid drought, ThinkHazard’s reports show that the effects of drought are felt throughout the country and, thus, unavoidable. To, at least, avoid living in regions where the drought’s effects are the most severe, it would be best to keep away from the east, southwest, and northwest. With all this in mind, I believe that I would make a home in the center of Overijssel or the southernmost region of Drenthe to avoid both the effects of drought and flooding.
Sources
https://thinkhazard.org/en/report/177-netherlands/FL
https://www.climatechangepost.com/netherlands/flash-floods-and-urban-flooding/
https://www.climatechangepost.com/netherlands/coastal-floods/
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/10/1527
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/10/climate/netherlands-drought-climate-change.html
https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/netherlands_map.htm
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