Without taking additional measures, flooding is becoming more likely and intense in a changing climate, which causes large economic damage. Households and firms are directly impacted by physical flood damage, but further ripple effects on society occur through business disruptions. By using post-disaster survey data from the 2021 flood event in the Netherlands, this study adds to the literature on business interruption duration and losses after flooding. The current empirical literature on flood impacts on firms is often unable to distinguish separate effects for flooded and non-flooded firms and does not incorporate flood severity and the influence of risk reduction measures. Here, we use multivariate regression models to determine depth-duration functions that describe the relationship between flood hazard characteristics and business interruption duration. This relationship can be used to calibrate flood damage models that capture indirect firm impacts. The prediction of business interruption after flooding allows for differentiation in business interruption between firms within a flooded area, reducing the reliance of these macroeconomic models on restrictive assumptions. Our results indicate that a day of business interruption duration costs a firm on average 0.5 % of their annual revenue; an effect that is stronger for firms with a weaker connection to their region. Flood damage mitigation (FDM) measures taken at the building level do not significantly affect business interruption duration, although further research on this is required. Finally, quick damage compensation is found to reduce business interruption duration and thus revenue losses, calling for higher insurance uptake and rapid and streamlined post-disaster insurance and government compensation.@en

This study provides an overview of the impact of the 2021 Summer floods in the Netherlands and the assessment of the effectiveness of various adaptation measures, evacuation strategies, and their impact on society. The floods were characterized by record rainfall in the cross-border region of the Meuse and Rhine basins and resulted in devastating losses in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The study reports on a household survey conducted with 1,509 households in the wake of the 2021 flood event in the southern part of the Netherlands (province of Limburg). Using a descriptive approach, we present household experiences during several stages of the disaster management cycle, reporting on experienced flood hazard and impacts, evacuation, flood damage mitigation measures, the compensation progress, risk perceptions, and stress. Our findings highlight the role of early warnings and flood risk information provision in flood risk management. Risk perceptions influence both adaptation and evacuation behavior, as respondents who were aware of flood risks beforehand took significantly more flood damage mitigation measures compared with those who were not aware. Flood damage mitigation measures, such as building with water-resistant materials and elevating valuables, reduced flood damage by 20% to 50%. Our survey shows that of those who received warnings, the majority actually evacuated. However, residents not aware of any evacuation advice evacuated significantly less. Additionally, the majority (75%) of respondents experienced high or very high stress during and after the flood, which is most likely related to the destructive flood impacts and the slow and uncertain compensation experienced by many respondents. This paper describes the flood event and its consequences to provide insights into Dutch disaster management and what can be learned for potential future disasters in other contexts.@en

Flood events are expected to increase in their frequency and severity, which results in higher flood risk without additional adaptation measures. The information gained from flood risk models is essential in effective disaster risk management. However, vulnerability estimations are often a large driver of uncertainty, and flood damage is rarely estimated due to a lack of empirical damage data from flood events. This study uses a unique data set with experienced damages and the implementation of flood damage mitigation (FDM) measures on the household level, collected after the flood event in the Netherlands in 2021. Flood damage models that control for several hazard, exposure, and vulnerability indicators are estimated and allow for additional input in flood risk models. Previous estimates of the effectiveness of FDM measures are prone to a selection bias, as households that do, and do not implement FDM measures systematically differ in their risk profiles. By using an instrumental variable-estimation, this study overcomes this selection bias and finds significant reductions in flood damage due to FDM measures. These reductions can be incorporated in multivariate flood vulnerability estimations, which indicate that FDM measures significantly reduce flood damage. Providing information on flood hazard, as well as implementing early warning systems, is crucial for ensuring effective flood risk management.

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