Severe Weather in the Netherlands

http://www.amsterdam.info/netherlands/geography/

          The Netherlands is not really known for extreme natural disasters; however, the Netherlands constantly is at threat from sea storms and flooding. These storms and floods have caused catastrophic events in the early history of the Netherlands but with the impressive systems of dykes and huge pumping stations, the people of the Netherlands have been able to defend themselves against the flooding.

http://www.severe-weather.eu/recent-events/several-tornadoes-reported-from-the-netherlands-november-3-2013/

          The Netherlands do have some tornadoes that affect the nation as well as severe coastal storms. In November 2013, at least 4 tornadoes were reported and were believe to be at a EF-1 level which can cause moderate damage but are considered weak. The Netherlands do have a fair share of tornadoes per year although most of them are within the EF-1 level.

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/cyclone-wrecks-dutch-town
         
          I found a video of the destruction of a Dutch town in Hollands back in the year 1925. It shows the extreme nature of the powerful storms that are rare but deadly in the Netherlands. It is pretty crazy to see how much damage that these cyclones can do in such a short time.

http://alarm.noodweercentrale.nl/storm-en.html

This link is to the severe weather alert website to alert any citizens in the Netherlands if there is any severe storms coming through. This website is very useful and can help prevent major losses if a severe storm was the hit the nation.

Sinkholes in the Netherlands

A sinkhole, or more commonly called in the Netherlands a shakehole or doline, is a depression or hole in the ground that is caused by the collapse of the surface layer of soil. Sinkholes can vary in size from 1 meter to 600 meters in both depth and diameter. Sinkholes can also form gradually or very suddenly.

Although giant sinkholes are not very common in the Netherlands, there is still many smaller sinkholes and depressions in the land. I found a story about a couple that lived in the Netherlands left their water sprinklers on for 3 days while they were vacationing in Germany and it caused a neighbors patio to sink because of the loosened soil beneath the floor.

In the Netherlands, the ground and soil usually since after a good amount of years so they have to go and raise the ground with sand to prevent a sinkhole. But this is only useful for small gardens and yards.

The Netherlands use dikes that help regulate water flow from the countryside and keep the water from washing away the land. Since about 20% of the population live under sea level and 50% of the population live just 1 meter above sea level, these dikes are extremely important in preventing flooding and soil damage from causing sinkholes.



http://nl.aup.nl/books/9789053566534-etymologisch-woordenboek-van-het-nederlands-deel-1-a-t-m-e.html

http://www.bndestem.nl/regio/bergen-op-zoom/bergen-op-zoom/vrouw-zakt-in-sinkhole-in-bergen-op-zoom-1.3946167?ref=carousel

Mass Wasting

Mass wasting is the array of processes in which earth material is transported down a slope by the force of gravity. Mass wasting can be either slow moving (creeping) or fast moving.

The types of mass wasting are creep, slump and slide, flow and fall.

• Creep is a slow downward movement of regolith as a result of gravity.
• Slump and Slide occurs when a mass of regolith slides over or creates a concave surface. As a result, a small, crescent-shaped cliff known as a scarp, is formed at the upper end.
• Flow is when a less uniform, or more chaotic, mass of material moves rapidly down a slope.
• Fall is the movement along slopes that almost perpendicular to the ground.

http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/Real-Life-Chemistry-Vol-8/Mass-Wasting.html

http://geography.about.com/od/hazardsanddisasters/a/masswastinglandslide.htm

Given that the Netherlands is a very low altitude and has very little, if any, mountainous terrain, there is barely any type of mass wasting. The Netherlands does get a significant amount of rainfall so if they do have mountains and cliffs, I would assume that the Netherlands would have mudslides and landslides.

I was not able to find any information on mass wasting in the Netherlands. I spent almost 2 and a half hours researching and I had no luck.

If you have any links or information so that i can learn about it myself that would be greatly appreciated.