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Western Europe under water rule, how the Netherlands managed to manage catastrophic floods

Western Europe under water rule, how the Netherlands managed to manage
Arcen, Dutch

The countries of Western Europe have been engulfed by a catastrophic flood for days, with Germany and Belgium among the worst affected. So far in Germany 195 people have been left dead by the floods and hundreds more are missing.

According to CNN , Europe has a natural disaster warning system and just a few days ago, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service sent more than 25 warnings to specific areas near the Rhine and Maas basins regarding some possible floods. . But it seems that few of these early warnings have reached the residents.

Western Europe under water rule, how the Netherlands managed to manage
BELGIUM

Authorities are questioning whether the Central European-level communication chain works with several other regions. " There was clearly a serious breakdown in communication, which in some cases has tragically cost people lives," said Jeff Da Costa, a doctoral researcher in hydrometeorology at the University of Reading in the UK.

It was different with the Netherlands. Just beyond its borders with the flood-ravaged areas of Germany and Belgium, the picture is completely different. The Netherlands also experienced extreme rainfall - though not as heavy as those in Germany and Belgium - and did not escape unscathed. But its cities have not been completely submerged and not a single person has died. Officials were more prepared and were able to communicate with people quickly.

Professor Jeroen Aerts, head of the water and climate risk department at Vrije University in Amsterdam, told CNN that " we saw the best wave coming and where it was going."

The Netherlands has a long history of water management and their success in the face of this catastrophe could offer the world a plan on how to deal with floods, especially as climate change is expected to make such extreme cases of rain more common.

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