Reviving rivers: Regenerative decontamination design for industries in the N.W.E DELTA region

Although the industrial release of pollutant substances into North West European river delta has been decreasing over the last decades, The Netherlands still has one of the worst water qualities in Europe. In this strategic regional design we aim to improve the quality, quantity and distribution of water through the concept of sustainable land...

Flash floods in Cebu: monitoring, modelling and preventing

Flash floods are a damaging and recurring problem in Cebu city, Philippines. Very little data is known about the intensities and precipitation amounts and the resulting river discharges. This research project firstly aims to gather as much data as possible on precipitation and river discharges that could cause the floods, it focuses on a small...

Justice of compensation for spatial flood risk management – comparing the flexible Austrian and the structured Dutch approach

In view of the anticipated climate change, many countries face increasing risks of flooding. Since the end of the 20^th century, the traditional hard flood protection measures have been increasingly complemented with spatial flood risk reduction measures. These measures, though in the public interest and as such, benefitting many...

Flood Prevention Guayaquil: A feasibility study on local stormwater storage and the effect of sea branch closure to prevent pluvial and coastal flooding

The city of Guayaquil suffers from regular floods. During the wet season, typically from late December until late April or early May, multiple floods per week can occur. Mainly the excessive rainfall in combination with high tide penetrating into the city results in a high flood risk, but some flood-prone areas can also flood in case of spring...

The Story of the Rio Arzobispo: Narrative Investigations

A proposal for a series of water plazas along the route of the Rio Arzobispo in Bogotá, Colombia. This follows extensive research on elements of the city and how they are perceived through my method: Narrative Inhabitation. The bed of the rio has been redesigned to increase its capacity to hold rainwater to be released slowly, mitigating flood...

Economic optimisation of flood risk management projects

The Netherlands has developed a flood risk management policy based on an economic rationale. After the flood disaster of 1953, when a large area of the south-western part of the country was flooded and more than 1800 people lost their lives, the so-called Delta Committee was installed, whose main purpose was to coordinate actions towards a...

Effectiveness and reliability of emergency measures for flood prevention

Floods in the summer of 2013 in Central Europe demonstrated once again that floods account for a large part of damage and loss of life caused by natural disasters. During flood threats emergency measures, such as sand bags and big bags, are often applied to strengthen the flood defences and attempt to prevent breaches. Although these measures...

Risk analysis for new sea dike design guidelines in Vietnam

Vietnam experienced sustained economic growth over the last decades, making it one of the fastest growing economies of the world. At this moment Vietnam is still fighting its way out of poverty and trying to improve living standards. With a coastline of 3,260 kilometers many activities take place in the densely populated coastal areas. The...

Six out-of-the-box ideas for flood prevention

It is now accepted that the combination of more intense rainfall, poor planning of built-up areas, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and, in particular, higher storm surges pose a real threat to the UK and many other countries. At a meeting at the Institution of Civil Engineers held on 7 July 2003, the Government Chief Scientist Professor David...