Author(s): Karin. M. De Bruijn; Frans Klijn
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Flood risk management; Resilience; Floods; Uncertainties
Abstract: The traditional flood risk management strategy in the Netherlands is based on preventing floods by constructing dikes and other structures. After each flood dikes were raised, people felt safer and investments in the area increased, causing a further need to prevent flooding. Nowadays, safety in the Netherlands is legally based on the exceedence probability of the discharge: all dikes should be able to withstand water levels related to a discharge with a return time of 1250 years. However, flood risk management not only depends on the hazard but also on the vulnerability of the area. The society does not only determine this vulnerability but also the strategy followed to cope with flood risks. The social and economical values indicate which level of risk is accepted, how much can be spent to prevent floods and what other values, such as nature and cultural landscape values should be taken into account. Changed societal views in the Netherlands lead to a discussion on alternative flood management strategies. A resilient flood risk management strategy might be a more appropriate strategy nowadays. This paper defines resilience in the context of flood risk management. A resilient strategy focuses on reducing the impacts of floods by increasing the speed of recovery of the system. The system is defined as the society and ecosystems in the area threatened by river floods.
Year: 2001