Adaptation Measures and Pathways for Flood Risk in Dordrecht (PAP014714)

Código

PAP014714

Autores

B. Gersonius, Ellen Kelder, Kim Anema, Sebastiaan van Herk, Chris Zevenbergen

Tema

Flood resilient societies through community preparedness

Resumo

In line with the Adaptive Delta Management approach of the Dutch Delta Programme,Dordrecht has developed a multi-layer safety strategy to meet the future tasking for flood riskmanagement. This strategy puts greater emphasis on limiting the consequences of floods through spatialplanning (layer 2) and emergency management (layer 3), in addition to protection from floods throughdikes (layer 1). The reasoning process and measures related to the new strategy are as follows.The proposal of the Delta Programme sub-programme Safety for updating the protection standards hasmade it possible to invest in strengthening specific dike segments, where it is most cost-efficient. Bytransforming the northeastern dike segment into an extra strong dike, Dordrecht can be safer than with aneconomically optimal standard for the entire dike ring -- for about the same cost. This targeted measure inlayer 1 is sufficient to meet the basic safety level (chance of fatalities is not higher than 1/100,000) andreduces the risk of social disruption (large groups of casualties) to virtually none.Economic damages and casualties due to a dike breach in the Northwest or in the South can be reducedby using regional defences as compartmentalisation (layer 2). In addition, compartmentalisation of thedike ring area enables the creation of a safe haven" for preventive evacuation on the island itself (layer3). This also calls for thorough preparation for floods, e.g. by robust design of critical infrastructurenetworks and improved risk and crisis communication.The multi-layer safety strategy for Dordrecht ensures that the objectives for flood risk management aremet in a timely and efficient manner, that opportunities for mainstreaming adaptation and for spatioeconomicdevelopment are taken advantage of, and that unnecessary costs of potentially irreversiblemeasures are avoided."