News - December

The magazine De Ingenieur reports:

• Plan for evacuating the Netherlands

Pierre Belanger from Harvard University states that the Netherlands should have better evacuation plans, and proposes a sequence that starts with rural areas, then urban areas and finally city centers. He points at New Orleans where 1.5 million people where moved in 36 hours.

• A new book:

'De Bostatlas van Nederland Waterland' or The Atlas of the Netherlands with a focus on water has been released. (ISBN 978 9001 90203 2)

• Using emotions when judging high-risk technologies

Sabine Roeser from the University of Twente and Technical University Delft pleads to use emotions when judging high-risk technologies to decrease the gap between scientific experts and the public. Many new technologies are not accepted by the public due to misinformation about the risks involved. Experts should investigate what risks the public sees and prove the results of failure of new technologies have less sever effects as imagined.

The magazine H2O reports:

• The economic importance of delta technology

A research performed by Panteia and Blueconomy show the total turnover in the sector delta technology for the Netherlands is 7.5 billion (Dutch: miljard) euro. About 4 billion comes from the international market, which is 6% of the total market of 120 billion euro (2008). Given climate change and increase in population, the expected growth is 15 billion euro per year.

• A new model predicting evacuation outcomes

The company HKV Lijn in Water had created a new model called EvacuAid, that has many variable parameters and lets users see how many people are evacuated from a certain area, from 0 to 48 hours after the call for evacuation. It also forecasts the number of casualties, based on results in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Interestingly enough the model shows preventive evacuation could cost more casualties than 'vertical evacuation' (where people are told to move up a floor or sit on their roof), depending on the area and the time available for evacuation.

• Results from the first 5 Space Studio meetings along the Rhine

The water board Rivierenland, covering the Eastern part of the Rhine, has created meeting rooms where spatial planners and water experts can meet and share plans. These so-called Space Studio meetings have taken place in 5 municipalities and focused on problems at the local level. Everywhere multiple solutions were thought up for the separate problems, and this success has led to the extension of the meetings to another 5 municipalities.

The Dutch government reports:

• The Future of the Enclosure Dam

The Department of Public Works is developing a plan for the future of the Enclosure Dam in the North of the Netherlands. Three different alternatives are being constructed based on meetings between provinces and other governors, environmental reports and expected costs. The ultimate choice will also depend on finances and agreements between parties. More >>>

• A movie about the SBW (Strengths and Taxes of Weirs) Program:

A movie will be released about the SBW, a program form the Department of Public Works. Three of the nine research areas are explained in the movie, along with how the results are used to enlarge water safety in the Netherlands. Link to the video >>>

Earthquakes Japan 2010

This is an overview of all the earthquakes in Japan in 2010, sorted per magnitude and shindo (震度, shaking intensity). This data was generated by using the Japan Meteorological Agency database.

The most earthquakes in a single category were shindo 1 and magnitude 3-3.9.
Shindo 1 earthquakes ranged from magnitude 1 to 5.9.
Shindo 2 earthquakes ranged from magnitude 1 to 6.9.
Shindo 3 earthquakes ranged from magnitude 1 to 6.9.
Shindo 4 earthquakes ranged from magnitude 4 to 7.9.
Shindo 5- earthquakes ranged from magnitude 4 to 7.9.

Below the frequency distribution of earthquakes during the year is shown:

Comparing the JMA statistics with the data from their database, two earthquakes were missing from the data in the database (one of shindo 2 and one of shindo 3).

JMA:

Intensity	震度７	震度６強	震度６弱	震度５強	震度５弱	震度４	震度３	震度２	震度１	Total
2010	0	0	0	0	5	32	99	294	883	1313

Database:

Intensity 震度７ 震度６強 震度６弱 震度５強 震度５弱 震度４ 震度３ 震度２ 震度１ Total 2010 0 0 0 0 5 32 98 293 883 1311

News in Japan - December

Prime Minister Naoto Kan will not fight the high court's decision to open the two floodgates of Isahaya Bay, overruling the plans of the farm ministry. More >>>

The National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management has released a newsletter.

Snow clearing in Japan:

While Europe has experienced many weeks of snow, which is now melting and causing local floods, in Japan there snow is dealt with quite effectively.

News - November

As seen in the ANWB magazine Kampioen:

• A triangular design from Jean Paul de Garde to solve space issues by combining ditches with bike paths:

The magazine De Ingenieur has a full length article about the redesigning of the Dutch Delta area near Rotterdam by visiting Harvard students, winning the Delta competition organised by engineering agency Royal Haskoning. More>>>

The magazine H2O reports:

• The new government:
  • The new government has decided that water boards will remain to exist.
  • Water board officials will be elected by city councils, rather than voted by the public.
  • All the current plans to finish deferred maintenance will also be executed to guarantee safety.
  • Future plans made by the Delta commission are under review.

• The Water Education day organised by UNESCO-IHE:

Professor Thea Hilhorst from Wageningen university showed an example of cultural differences. In Mozambique, earning money is often spatially divided but polygamy might prove a solution to climate change. A woman in the flood plains might provide food during droughts while a second woman in the hills provides during the wet season.

• The Deltaconference in Rotterdam:

Prince Willem van Oranje emphasized that we could be proud to have no flood victims since the storm surge of 1953, but now was the time to keep investing in a safe future. The costs of another flood, that might occur in 50 or 60 years, might not be affordable if we neglect this.

• A new book:

'Gebiedsontwikkeling in woelig water', a water governance book by Arwin van Buuren and others. More>>>

• New secretary of state for Infrastructure and environment promises clarity

At the first National Delta Conference the secretary of state for the new ministry of Infrastructure and Environment promised that water safety is an important building stone of the water policies of the current government. This year it would be made clear which investments are necessary to guarantee the safety in the Netherlands in the future. This year it will be decided if the norms for safety are to be adjusted and what this will cost. The current proposed funds advised by the Delta Act are 1 billion euro, to be spent from 2022 onwards.

Video of the prince (water ambassador) and more here.

• Ministries and provinces are determined to plan the Main Ecological Structure (Ecologische HoofdStructuur)

Within now 9 months it should become clear what the Main Ecological Structure (EHS) will look like in 2018. It was originally designed as a series of connected natural areas, but problems have risen with buying all of the envisioned connecting areas. More >>>

• New regulations for floating houses

The ministry of Traffic, Spatial planning and the Environment has released a document explaining all the regulations concerning floating houses, aimed at developers, builders and municipal plan testers.

Download it here.

News - October

Divers of the KNNV nature club will hold a lecture about underwater nature in November. More>>>

The union of water boards highlights a free international conference in Bonn, Germany scheduled in November, on the future of the river Rhine. The main language of the conference is German, translations are available in Dutch and French. More>>>

The magazine Land & Water reports:

• A new system has been developed that enables monitoring the current status of dikes, dams, railroads and bridges based on satellite imagery. More>>>
• Natural areas suffering from dessication were revitalized by raising the ground water level. However, roads in these areas are now suffering from this water surplus. More>>>
• Water board Regge en Dinkel is starting a project called 'The Breakthrough', involving the relocation of the route of a discharge route in Twente. It is estimated to take 15 years to complete and will cost 50 million euro. More>>>

The magazine H2O reports:

• Several parties in the province of Brabant aimed at water, lifestyle, art and design have initiated a Water Lifestyle Center. More>>>
• A new website waterwerkvormen has been launched, where you can find policy and negotiation tools involving water, climate and spatial development. More>>>
• Water board Rijn en IJssel has asked an independent agency to review the effectiveness of its response during the severe water incident last August. On review are the cooperation with other parties, communicating, whether or not the current water system is up to regulations and if the water board acted according to circumstances. More>>>

The magazine De Ingenieur reports:

• A new decision aiding matrix has been developed to help explore the design possibilities of houses as flood barriers. Many parties are involved that all have their own values to protect: water boards care about water safety norms, municipalities and citizens want high living standards. The so-called Urban Flood Protection Matrix indicates the viability of plans for each party involved. Still missing are rules and regulations for building these structures. More>>>

Federal or state?

Both Dutch and Japense people expect their government to take care of mostly everything when it comes to floods, from prevention to evacuation. How are these expectations in the land of the free?

The United States has seen a magnitude of flood-related disasters such as the Mississippi floods and hurricanes such as Katrina. [An informative American flood website is floodsafety.com, where amongst others you can find information on D'Hanis, Texas, which received a whopping 60 cm of rain in 2.45 hours.] However, most Americans tend to prefer to arrange things for themselves and have as little governmental influence as possible. Whereas Japan and the Netherlands have governments focussed mainly on preventing floods, the United States are centered around preparations of less than 1 week and recovering (see the reference below). Regardless of what is being done and when, it is still interesting to know who is being held responsible.

Like with the health care issue, the question is: 'who is responsible, federal or state government?'. If water management is handled per state, this could greatly affect implemented measures. In this regard there are similarities between the individual states in the USA and the countries that make up the European Union. Given the tiny country that the Netherlands is, in the 1970s it became unignorably evident that water issues (at that time contamination issues) were international problems, and therefore any solutions should be approached internationally as well. Now that we have the European Water Framework Directive, plans have moved from theory to actual implementation internationally as well. Looking at the United States, the Mississippi river and its floods seem to naturally call for a bigger-than-state approach. Is water management handled on a state or federal level, or both? Or are the inhabitants of flood prone areas left to fend for themselves? Undoubtely the answer will be a combination of these three.

More important though is the question whether the measures that are taken seem adequate to the inhabitants. Are people happy living their lives in flood prone areas? Do they feel safe? Does the amount of freedom weigh up nicely against the risk of flooding?

[Ironically, the safety chain approach in flood risk management used in the Netherlands (proaction-prevention-preparation-response-recovery) stems from the United States' Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).]

Old Skipper's House

In the center of Hoogeveen, deprived of any natural water whatsoever, lies the quaint restaurant the Old Skipper's House. There are wide streets with heavy traffic on one side of the restaurant, and the busy main street with shops and cafes on the other. But there is no navigable water in the area, and there are definitely no ships. An innocent bystander might think the restaurant owner moved to this town from elsewhere and really liked the name, but the truth lies elsewhere.

Hoogeveen, as the town's name indicates, has a history in peat. Back in the 1600's peat was big business and canals were dug to transport them. The canals were even the main mode of transportation as all the milk from the surrounding area was brought to the market in Hoogeveen by boat. Once a month the farmers would come to town themselves; the men would sit wait at the Old Skipper's House for their milk money, and their wives would go out to market to buy city commodities.

After the second world war the canals were filled, leading to wide roads. The city has since then brought back the water in the form of fountains and an artificial river, meandering through Main Street, between all the shops. Plans for more ponds and fountains await the city council's approval. It just goes to show a name can carry a lot of history and explain even the modern day layout of a city.

An NHK special report on Tokyo at risk from rain related floods

The reason for the special report is the governmental report released a few months ago, called 'Tokyo Metropolitan Area Submerged'.

In the video, computer graphics show the effects of the cases examined by the report; for instance, 300 mm per day will cause an estimated 6300 deaths. A big problem is that the current water systems are built to handle 50 mm of rain per hour, whereas the storm seasons in the past years have all seen more than 100 mm of rain per hour. The current focus is on better downpour prediction systems, so that citizens might be informed about evacuation possibilities.

Heavy rain in Japan

NHK reports heavy rain in the Kanto and Touhuko regions of Honshu, Japan (North and North-East, see image below). One particular area received 5.8 cm of rain in 1.40 hours. Aside from floods and landslides,the Japan Meteorological Agency also warns for tornadoes, lightning and wind gusts.

Losser - a final movie

The regional broadcasting channel RTV Oost made an overview of the floods from a helicopter. This is what 5.5 cm of rain in 12 hours looks like:



More information can of course be found on the website of the regional water board (in Dutch).

Losser - a follow up

Yesterday I thought I might visit the Dinkel again and see how much the water had lowered, expecting it to be gone.

It was a calm, sunny evening. As I rode through the fields on my bike, an acorn fell from a tree and made a loud splash. I noticed the Dinkel area has attracted over 600 new birds - all gulls. The water is still there, and it stinks. An early warning of contaminants in the water, which will pollute the soil. Although the water results in beautiful reflective pools and provides opportunities for new species, the downsides are already evident.

It could be far worse. We are lucky to live in a country where there is usually only minor property damage, which can be reimbursed by insurance. Moreover the Netherlands has decades of experience in treating contaminated soil.
During these floods nobody died. But does go to show that even a small river with an average 4m width can uproot daily existence, and it might be a good time to start thinking about flood preparedness...

Hometown Losser makes national news

Thursday the village De Lutte, part of the municipality of Losser, was already on the national news because the main highway to Germany, the A1, was inundated due to the heavy rainfall. Yesterday the extent of the damage locally in De Lutte became clear as the water hadn't been pumped out completely everywhere, and people were loading trucks with damaged carpets and lawn furniture.

Today Losser made the news again, as the river Dinkel, flowing from Germany, flooded well beyond its borders. Fear rose that the highway and railroad might be inundated again, but so far they have remained dry.

A local on the scene explained that in the German town Gronau, where the Dinkel runs through the center of town, the shops had lost their customers after gaining 40 cm of water inside. Thus it was decided to open the sluices of the river Dinkel, letting the water out to the Netherlands. The Dinkel flows to the East of the town Losser, affecting mainly farmland, natural areas and farms.

The national news reports that roads are closed off and the fire department has even set up two points where sandbags are handed out. You can read the full Dutch article here.




More pictures of De Lutte after the rain:



More pictures of the Dinkel in Losser:

News - August

The area affected by the Pakistan floods can now be seen on the website of BBC dimensions in comparison to other countries, so you get an idea of how much soil and how many people really are affected. The UN estimates that there are currently 17.2 million people in need of assistance and 800.000 people are cut off from aid over land, and therefore has asked for 40 additional helicopters.

Yesterday the Netherlands experienced a day of torrential rainfall, after which it has become abundantly clear how too much water can disrupt daily life. Many areas had 50 mm of precipitation within hours, as opposed to it falling during the entire month of August. Coincidentally yesterday also a media event was held after all, on both radio and television channels, to raise money for Pakistan. Over 16.1 million euro was collected, mainly from private donations. The government promised an additional 2 million euro during this event.

Also this week, the ministry of Transport, public works and water management has provided 250 million euros to reinforce weak spots in the Dutch sea defense in areas of the province North-Holland. That's 125% more for floods that may very well never occur, but it's better than nothing.

In the mean time Freerice has also made a change to its website. In the beta version it is now possible to keep track of your daily scores and compare them to others'. If you feel you'd rather provide aid in a physical form rather than money and you don't have a helicopter in your back yard, Freerice is a sure way to do some good whilst getting smarter.

Pakistan floods and aid funds

Voanews shows the extend of the recent Pakistan floods:



The Dutch government reports that 14 million people (8% of the total population) are affected by the floods and the UN organisation OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) needs about 357 million euro to provide aid for the coming three months. In 1953 nearly the entire South-West of the Netherlands suffered a similar flood where 1834 people died. The Netherlands received aid from all over the world, including Pakistan. What is the Netherlands doing to aid Pakistan now?

Many Dutch media reported outrage at the lack of a national television charity event, but given the money such an event would cause (around 1 million euro), charity organisations feared such an event might end up costing more than the money it would raise given that it is holiday season. However, the national account used for gathering individual donations, giro 555, has been opened on the 13th of August and has collected 2.5 million euro during the first 5 days already. Earlier events that did have a television charity event raised 208 million euro for the tsunami in 2004-2005 and 155 million euro for the Haiti earthquake in 2010.
The national government has donated 3 million euro in response to the UN request for aid. Additionally, according to the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs, Pakistan has been receiving Dutch international aid since 1957. The current aid program focuses on environment and water, proper governance and human rights, and has a budget of about 50 million euro per year.

Meanwhile, the Japanese ministry of foreign affairs has provided about 11.2 million euro and helicopters for the recent floods.
Additionally the nornmal yearly aid donated via the Official Development Assistance (ODA) program is divided into three categories, namely loans, grants and technical cooperation. In 2008 the figures spent on these were 438, 55.6 and 10.8 million euro respectively.

To help the UN get the money and goods to help out the people in Pakistan, you can help out too by playing the games at Freerice.

Darthmouth Flood Observatory

To get an impression of floods in Europe over the years, here is a .gif from the Darthmouth Flood Observatory:



For more information see the Darthmouth Flood Observatory website.

Informing the public in Japan

洪水避難地図や防災グッズ紹介 (2010年05月17日)

水防月間（5月1～31日）に合わせ、洪水避難地図の普及促進を図るパネル展が17日、山形市役所1階エントランスホールで始まった。洪水避難地図のほか、最近の水害写真や避難時のポイントを解説するパネルを展示し、災害への備えを促している。

Translated news item from Yamagata news online:

An introduction to flood shelter maps and disaster prevention goods (17 May 2010)

During the flood prevention month (May 1-31st), the promotional spreading of flood evacuation maps was started by unfolding panels in the Yamagata City Hall entrance.
Besides flood evacuation maps, display panels explaining the evacuation points and pictures of the most recent flood distasters urge preparing for disasters.

Click here for the article and video.



The goods shown at the end of the video have the sign "shopping possibilities for 100 yen" (0.87 euro/1.14 US Dollar) and include items such as a rain coat, a rope, a whistle, and an emergency light.

Heavy rains in Japan

July 14th, 2010
Typhoon season is approaching. Heavy rains in Japan caused floods, showing one of the main differences with the Netherlands: as 75% of Japan is covered by mountains, the rivers are very steep and erosion of the soil can sweep entire houses away. The Netherlands is lucky to only be sinking and not washing away as well.

Ice Bowling

The Daily Onigiri reports:
The Japanese bowling society strikes back at the summer heat! Asahi.com has a short report about a fun ice bowling event that was held yesterday as part of the local festival in front of Tokyo’s JR Shinbashi Station. During the event, they unveiled an oversized 2-meter tall ice bowling pin with a weight of 700 kg.