Flood risk perception and implications for flood risk management in the Netherlands

Abstract

A society well@aware of risks must not only give attention to the prevention of flood risks but must also consider disaster management, i.e. minimising casualties and flood damages, and enhancing recovery. The Netherlands has a solid network of levees along the rivers that protect the many low‐lying polders from flooding. But nature is unpredictable, extreme events may happen, and absolute protection against flooding cannot be offered. It is common practice to perform technical and economic analyses to determine the feasibility of flood protection plans. And usually also institutional and administrative aspects are addressed. But how the people that live in the polders feel about flood risk and protection plans seldom gets due attention. This paper primarily looks into the attitude of the people. How do people live with (flood) risks and how do they feel about that? What can be learned from that for communication on flood risks and flood risk management? Finally, we give some recommendations about what elements to consider when developing a flood risk management strategy.