Operations Research Used For Improving Flood Protection Levels In The Netherlands

With 55% of the country susceptible to flood risk, protection against flooding is a vital issue in the Netherlands. Each year, the Dutch government spends roughly one billion euro on protection by dikes and dunes. In total there are 3500 kilometers of primary dikes in the Netherlands. In 1953 a big flood disaster occurred in the southwestern part of the Netherlands; more than 1800 people were killed, and the economic damage was enormous. In 1995 there was again a critical situation in several parts of the Netherlands; 250,000 people were evacuated at that time, but fortunately no serious flood occurred.