Development of a Standard Testing Framework for Evaluating Temporary Flood Barriers

Floods are the costliest and deadliest weather-related disaster globally. With higher population density in flood prone areas, increased urban development, and projected climate impacts, the frequency and severity of flooding in Europe is predicted to rise. While permanent flood defences have been shown to be more economically effective and...

Modelling in applied hydraulics: More accurate in decision making than in science?

Marked differences occur between modelling in scientific hydraulic research, in hydraulic engineering and in public decision making. This study reviews ifferences in the required accuracy of model results and differences in the choice between physical and numerical modelling. Physical models are used for studying elementary processes and their...

Trends in flood exposure and vulnerability: Europe 1870–2016

Objectives<br/>Since the beginning of the second industrial revolution in the second half of the 19th century, Europe’s society and economy has been profoundly transformed. The population doubled in the last 150 years, together with more than fourfold increase in number of dwellings and 30-fold increase in production value in real terms. At the...

Forensic analyses and hindcasting of the Breitenhagen levee failure

The hindcasting of levee failures can provide valuable information about levee strength, strength models and dominant factors that contribute to failure. It is however not always clear how and why a levee failed as evidence (such as detail subsoil composition) is not present anymore.

Organizational Learning to Unleash Creative Capacity of Contractors

In the Netherlands, technical innovations for dike strengthening rarely become mainstream. A case study of the redesign process of the dike between Kinderdijk and Schoonhovenseveer suggests that benefitting from the creative capacity of contractors requires organizational learning.

Optimization of flood risk reduction through multiple lines of defence

loods can have a huge impact on the regions they affect. The impact of these disasters can be reduced with a flood risk management system. Flood-prone regions often require a combination of interventions to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. The amount of risk reduction provided by various interventions can be quantified using probabilistic...

Real time floodrisk management

The central issue for authorities (as well as the public) is how and when to respond to forecasted extreme water levels on rivers, lakes and along the coast and large-scale flooding is an actual risk. The decision-making process is influenced by contradicting information, overloads and gaps in information, rumours, uncertainties in forecasts,...