1. Flood risk, flood prevention and flood insurance in The Netherlands
Karel Heynert & Laurens Bouwer
Deltares, The Netherlands

2. This talk…

4. The Netherlands - delta of 4 international basins
Rhine
Scheldt
Meuse
Ems
Amsterdam
Due to the geographical location of our country we have always been forced to interact, or better to say, manage water and the challenges and opportunities water brings us. Just alike in many delta areas around the world and all over Indonesia. Most of our Indonesian guests here today live in a comparable location as we do in the Netherlands, a low lying delta marked by rivers, canals and water bodies. It seems we tend to locate villages, which have become cities, on locations which nowadays give leaders, especially those dealing with water, big challenges. Challenges which can be overcome, but these need our utmost interest and dedication.
Deltacommissioner Wim Kuijken clarified how seriously we take the fact that the world’s natural processes are changing, that we see an urgency to invest in Climate Change Adaptation. But, we’re not alone in this world. As we have neighbors sharing our rivers, we must interact with our neighboring countries to discuss and see to border crossing issues, as one can tell by the map on the screen. Moreover, one could say we feel a kind of responsibility to share our expertise with others around the world.
Schiphol 4 4

5. The Netherlands – protected by levees
Total
Vulnerable to flooding
Surface Area
  km²
55%
Inhabitants
16,8 million
60%
GNP
700 billion $
65%
There is a need to share know how, and a must to communicate with our neighbors, be it next to our country or on the other side of the planet. If we don’t take action, the consequences could be huge. For our country a large part of our land, the people living here and the economy would be hugely affected in case of floods. There is a clear reasoning behind investing in waterworks, new water policies and adaptive measures. But naturally we must also continuously inform the Netherlands populace about the risks, and the measures government takes to eliminate or at least limit these, to create more awareness of the issues at hand.
On screen one can notice which part of our country is flood prone. This is not only the area which is under sea level, this is the area that could be affected by water or flooding from upstream (Germany, Switzerland), as well as from the coastal (North Sea) side. Many cities in Indonesia face both these challenges as well, a threat from the higher located catchment areas as well as the sea side.
On the picture at the bottom in the middle, one could observe our national airport Schiphol, quite near here, which is about 4 meters below sea level. Minister Eurlings already informed you that this pumping station contributed to making Schiphol’s location reclaimed dry land, but it surely remains many meters under sea level now, but safe. Let me inform you that the lowest or deepest location in our country, close to the cheese city of Gouda, is nearly 7 meters under sea level. 5

6. The National Water Plan I will inform you on during the next slide.
The Deltacommissioner Wim Kuijken himself informed you on the Deltacommission and the tasks of the Deltacommissioner.
The Water Act was introduced in December This is one Act instead of many different ones related to water, making the legislation clearer and more integrated. I learned that in Indonesia you’re also on the way to integrate the water related law’s into one integrated Act. I was informed that one of our colleagues is cooperating with the Indonesian water legislation experts in this proces.

7. Flood protection in The Netherlands (current)
Return periods…
4,000yr
53 flood protection areas (dike rings)
Protection level based on probability of exceedance of design waterlevels
5 different protection standards
Procedure in Water Act
Formal verification: every 6 yrs
1,250yr
10,000yr
4,000yr
2,000yr

8. Towards a flood risk based approach…
Cursus opmaak suggesties
24 april 2017
Towards a flood risk based approach…
Decision making based on flood risk
Still largely an engineering approach, but…
Flood risk…
Unprotected areas: flood hazard * vulnerability (mapping)
Areas with flood defences: failure probability * consequences (calculations)
Rationale for investments in flood defences…
Economic viability
Probability of loss of life < 10-5
Naam1 en Naam2

9. 24 april 2017
Computing flood risk… ?

10. Computing flood risk… Some points of attention… ‘Indirect’ damage
24 april 2017
Computing flood risk…
Potential direct damage per dike ring in M€ (in 2020)
Potential inundation depth in (meter)
Some points of attention…
‘Indirect’ damage
Critical infrastructure
Not all parts of levee system are equally important
Flood protection units interact

11. Potential loss of life…
Flood prone
Not flood prone
Water
Not NL
Local individual risk of death
Time to onset of flooding
Direct (< 6 hrs)
Fast (6-24 hrs)
Slow (> 24 hrs)
Preventing loss of life…
Flood protection
Flood warning & crisis management
24 april 2017

12. Flood insurance…

13. Insurability of flood damage in The Netherlands
Figure: Matthijs Kok X
Local flood damage → ordinary insurance policies 1: Water damage in house (rain) 2: High groundwater 3: Sewer flooding 4: Polder water system

14. Insurability of flood damage in The Netherlands
Figure: Matthijs Kok X
Local flood damage → ordinary insurance policies 1: Water damage in house (rain) 2: High groundwater 3: Sewer flooding 4: Polder water system
Flooding, due to failure of defences → coverage ??
5: Failure regional flood defence
6: Failure of primary flood defence
7: Unembanked areas

15. Flood insurance in The Netherlands…
Building and home content policies
Crop loss insurance stopped in ‘09
Government compensation act (WTS)
New disaster insurance…
Flooding, terrorism, earthquake etc
Limited to 75 k€ per insured object
Limit in nr of households in ‘unit’
Flood insurance pool proposed by Dutch Association of Insurers…
Obligatory, incl. in house insurance!
Annual max. coverage: 5,000 M€
Seems rejected by NL cartel authority

16. Future direction of flood insurance?
< 100 €/ha
100-1,000 €/ha
,000 €/ha
10, ,000 €/ha
> 100,000 €/ha
Flood risk management policy based on:
Prevention
Optimal investments
Prevention of loss of life
High protection levels
Infrequent events
High accumulation risk
Limited flood awareness (?)
Public anticipation of role government
So where should we with flood insurance?
Mainly for regional water systems?

17. Thank you! How to balance between investments in flood protection and
relying on flood insurance?
Thank you!