Multifunctional flood defenses
Technical design problem or policy challenge?
JK Vrijling (TU Delft - Hydraulic Structures and Flood Risk)
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Abstract
Over the ages delta areas have
greatly benefitted their inhabitants. They generally provide fertile soils,
rich fishing grounds and easy water transport, which facilitates trade. These
natural resources stimulated population growth and made deltas densely
populated areas. The threat of flooding by storm surges at sea or high
discharges from the rivers has never driven the inhabitants to higher and safer
grounds. They accepted the recurrent disasters as inevitable, or they started
to defend themselves and their properties by building on existing hills or by
building artificial mounds or even dikes. We can see this in the occurrence of
the Dutch words for mounds and dikes in the names of old cities and streets,
like ‘hil’, ‘-warden’, or ‘-terp’, and ‘-dijk’ or ‘-dam’.