Netherlands and the Natural Hazards

Netherlands: The Natural Disasters That Affect the Land

            In the Netherlands, there are few natural disasters that the citizens need to be worried about. However, the few natural disasters that do occur can cause catastrophic events. The two most worrisome natural disasters in the Netherlands is flooding, and climate change. The reason that these are the most worrisome is that over 50% of the Netherlands is at sea level or just barely above sea level.

Although flooding is frequent and sea level changes can be devastating, the country of the Netherlands have the most advanced dikes and dam systems in the world and are well prepared to prevent any gradual changes in sea level rise. The flooding of the land in the Netherlands would cause immense damage along with many deaths but since the dikes are extremely advanced there would have to be a major flood to cause destruction as such. (http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/dykes.html)

            Climate change is the most significant hazard to the Netherlands simply because of the amount of rivers and the low land level. Climate change can lead to changes in the amount of annual precipitation, the change of wind direction, and also the type of climate that exists. These changes in climate can cause the rivers to overflow or the wind can completely alter the flow of the river causing the water to flood surrounding land.

            Climate change can occur through the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It can also be caused by the change in warm air and cold air that collide over the Netherlands as the low pressure masses come in from Iceland and the high pressure masses come from the Azores. The change in these pressure masses would greatly affect the climate of the entire country causing warmer weather or maybe the opposite and bring more cold weather. (https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409956/Netherlands)

            The initial plan to prevent flooding and climate change would be to continue the excellent research on the dikes and dams to be ready in case of an enormous flood or disaster. Since climate change in not easily controllable, the best precautions to take would be to limit the amount of automobile use, which is already well praised in the Netherlands, and also to have companies use strict protocol when disposing chemicals.

            By having flooding prevention such as the dikes and dams, the gradual increase in sea levels would be manageable and would not be an instant threat to the citizens. However, the climate change would be difficult to maintain just because humans cannot control the weather. Humans can help prevent the climate from becoming drastically different but people cannot ultimately control the weather.

            The areas of the Netherlands that would need the most assistance and precautions would have to be the coastal areas and the areas of land that surround the massive rivers in the country. These areas would need to make sure the dikes and flood prevention measures are all up to par in order to prevent against a major flood or a rise in the sea level.

         If I were to live in the Netherlands I would construct my home in the city of Amsterdam because of the education that is in the area and just the overall functionality of the city itself. As a result of being a highly educated area, along with a very hard working culture, the city of Amsterdam was voted the best city to live in in the country of the Netherlands. Although the elevation is still less than 10 meters above sea level, I would feel completely safe living in the city of Amsterdam as not many other cities have a higher elevation themselves. (http://www.iamexpat.nl/read-and-discuss/expat-page/news/best-place-to-live-netherlands)