Three Months after
Katrina, Dutch Rethink Their Own Water Defenses
November 18, 2005 — By Toby Sterling, Associated Press
AMSTERDAM — With more than 1,000
years of experience building dikes, the Dutch have flood defenses few
can match. But after seeing the devastation wrought by Hurricane
Katrina, the government is reassessing what a worst-case scenario would
mean for a nation where 10 million people live below sea level.
In a major report presented to parliament last week, the Traffic and
Water Ministry called for the Netherlands' biggest cities to review
their evacuation plans and argued for a strengthening of river dikes,
especially around Rotterdam.
"It's the opening salvo in what will be a long discussion," said
ministry spokesman Hendrik Dek.
Reviews of water defenses go on all the time in a country whose very
name means "the low-lying lands" and whose history has been determined
by the struggle to reclaim safe ground from the delta of the Rhine and
Maas rivers.
The Netherlands recently completed a 50-year program to upgrade its
system of dikes and measures, spurred by a 1953 flood that killed 1,800
people.
Vowing such a catastrophe would never happen again, the Dutch built a
massive system of dams, sea walls and surge barriers to protect the
south of the country against any storm save one so severe that
statistically it is predicted to happen only once in 10,000 years.
Though the Delta Project gave the Dutch a measure of security, they were
stunned by the scenes of confusion after the levees broke in New
Orleans.
"Katrina shook everyone awake," Dek said. "A disaster like that always
helps firm up the resolve to get things done."
Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana plans to visit Holland next
month to view the Delta Project, including engineering feats such as the
Maeslantkering, twin rotating gates each the size of the Eiffel Tower
that can seal the mouth of Rotterdam's harbor in case of a sea surge.
Dek said the levees in New Orleans had lower standards than Dutch law
mandates and were built to withstand the kind of storm that could be
expected once every 100 years.
"But we also must face the fact that no matter what you do to prepare,
something can go wrong, defy all your models," he said.
Examples range from the effects of global warming or a terrorist attack
to more prosaic problems such as erosion, design flaws or burrowing
animals.
Proposals submitted to parliament last week would, for the first time,
link the investment in defenses to the potential economic damage if a
dike were breached.
Studies found that the country could suffer US$350 billion (euro300
billion) or more in damage if Rotterdam's river dikes were to fail.
The Dutch reserve more than US$1.2 billion (euro1 billion) annually --
around 1 percent of the national budget -- to maintain and improve the
dikes, dunes, pumps, sluices and windmills that work constantly to keep
the country dry.
The current program operates on the principle of "living with water," an
idea that could have implications for the rebuilding of New Orleans.
Proponents say that building dikes and walls higher is a bad idea,
because that will only worsen a disaster when it comes.
Instead, the Netherlands will work on contingency plans to deal with
crises rather than just prevent them. One sparsely populated area near
Nijmegen already has been designated for intentional flooding to drain
water from the Rhine if the river rises too high.
In addition, efforts are being made to restore the country's natural
drainage system by reconnecting minor creeks and canals to larger
waterways -- in effect, transforming the country into a giant sponge.
Rob van Doland, who designs weather models at the Royal Weather
Institute, said the Netherlands may have to absorb 25 percent more
rainwater as a result of climate change, and could expect a rise in sea
level of up to 3 feet (about 1 meter).
One solution would be designating additional overflow areas, he said.
"That would help us deal with extra water in the winter, and less in the
summer," which current models predict, he said. "But so far that idea
has not been enthusiastically received" by the government.
In a recent interview, Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen said it was doubtful
whether his city could realistically be evacuated.
"Look, I think something like that is always incredibly difficult," he
said. "If you try to cart off a million people, that's naturally an
enormous commotion and confusion -- it would never go perfectly right.
It's certainly not a case of, blow a whistle and, hey presto, you're
high and dry."
Source: Associated Press
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