In Europe and other countries around the globe, climate-induced floods are dominating the news these days. The recent floods in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia caused over 20 victims and billions of damage. With floods becoming more frequent and severe, what actions can we take? How can we best prepare for the next flood?
Be ready, be FIER
In the Interreg North Sea project FIER, 10 partners from 5 different countries aim to enhance societal resilience for and limit the impact of climate-induced floods. The project kicked off in March in Bruges and we had the first partner meeting in Caen (Fr.) from 17 to 19 September. This gathering allowed us to share progress and initial findings, as well as to further develop and strengthen our project team.
Inspirational days
The partner meeting was kindly hosted by BUILDERS École d'Ingénieurs in Caen (Fr). The team started with a reflection on the recent floods. It’s tragic that these floods occur, but we can still gain valuable lessons from them.
Marcel from Veiligheidsregio Zeeland shared insights about the crisis cycle. Because often, after recovering from a flood, we simply return to our daily routine. But how can we make sure we build back better after a flood? What steps can we take to prepare effectively for future events? With FIER, we want to make society resilient to future climate-induced floods.
Cross-border collaboration
Water does not respect national borders. Topics like cross-border cooperation, transnational collaboration and data exchange were further discussed during the partner meeting. For example, if there is flooding in France, it is important that neighboring countries are properly informed as well. It is essential that countries with flood-prone areas adopt the same protocols, communicate in common language and definitions, and maintain close communication with one another. Only through cross-border cooperation and well-functioning decision support systems can we minimize the impact of climate induced floods.
Creating awareness
To be FIER is to be prepared. To become prepared, the first step is to become aware. Communication agency Keijzer provided two workshops regarding the internal and external communication of project. These workshops assessed the impact of the project and laying the foundations for capitalization on the results. They also addressed how to reach the stakeholders and hopefully you, as a reader!
Life-saving drones
Last but not least, we visited the hydraulic lab of BUILDERS where they explained how they use a 40-meter rigg in the lab to simulate e.g. wave impact. Moreover, we had a demonstration of their drone on the beach, showing its lifesaving and risk assessment capabilities with the use of LiDAR and thermal imaging! Read more about this technology in this article
Inspired
After three days in Caen, the team has had the opportunity to share a lot of ideas and knowledge, identify each other’s strengths and accelerate the work that is going on in each of the work packages. Inspired, we all returned home looking forward to meet each other in Dordrecht in March 2025 for the next partner meeting.