The situation for the northwest of the Netherlands does not look good. A huge cloudburst causes flooding for ten days in an area with four million inhabitants. The water level has already risen twenty centimeters and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal is on the verge of overflowing. In the polders around the village of Schalkwijk, the defense delivers sandbags and an emergency pump with a Chinook helicopter. But is it enough? Or are we going to deliberately flood this area, with dairy farmers and picturesque villages, to protect the cities?
It’s a bit hard to imagine this Thursday afternoon, here on the Kanaaldijk in Schalkwijk, right below Houten. The meadows in this rural area may be a bit swampy and full of goose droppings, but the sun is shining brightly and in the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal the water is lapping against the banks at normal levels.
Only the Kerkelandwetering pumping station, an inconspicuous structure located on a ditch, runs at slightly higher speed. At the request of the Ministry of Defense, which today wants to practice placing sandbags in flowing water. This turned out to be more difficult than expected in 2021 during the floods in Valkenburg, also caused by heavy rainfall. Then it became clear that stacking square bags is more effective in the fight against water than round ones.
Sandbagging is a real discipline. And there are more aspects that are receiving attention during Operation Cloudburst these days. Dike monitoring, installing mobile barriers, determining strategy. The biennial exercise, carried out by water managers and defense, lasts more than two weeks, with theoretical and practical training. It is intended to protect the Netherlands in times of climate crisis in the event of sudden severe weather, as recently occurred in Valencia.
The chinook puts down the water pump.
Photo John van Hamond
Thorough preparation, that is the idea. And leave that to the organizers. In the meadow near Schalkwijk, where the Chinook can drop its emergency pump at any time, two press boxes were set up this afternoon with red and white ribbon. People are walking in yellow, purple, orange and blue vests, an employee is handing out lupas (packed lunches) on the dike and two tour buses are emptying from the dike. The visitors, civil servants, effortlessly endure the swampy meadow with their sturdy shoes.
The press can choose from a range of spokespersons. Defense alone has three ready. One from the Air Force, because of the Chinook. And militarily, Utrecht is part of the Army North region, so that spokesperson is also present. Just like that of the 43 Mechanized Brigade in Havelte, of which the ten soldiers on the meadow are part. And that of the De Stichtse Rijnlanden Water Board, which maintains the pumping station, is also present. Today’s visitors include employees from three other water boards involved, plus those from Rijkswaterstaat, three Provinces and several Safety Regions.
In the Netherlands, almost everything is low, our country is only designed for a certain amount of rain and you cannot simply store all that water somewhere.
Not for the stage
“Working together, that is actually what we practice here,” says Jeroen Haan, waiting for the Chinook. He is the dike manager of the water board and knows: military jargon and that of the civilian population can differ. Moreover, the higher up the escalation ladder, the more parties involved, the more consultation necessary. And especially in the event of disasters, he says, it is useful if everyone already knows each other a little. A face, a telephone number, that helps. “So you know how the other person is done.”
“And there is more and more misery,” says Haan. Today it is still about sandbags, but next week the escalation will be complete – then the country will be even further flooded. “That is why we will also practice at a strategic level. How are we going to make decisions in a crisis? How do we weigh the different interests?”
“Look, no one wants their home to be flooded,” says Cis Apeldoorn, looking at the sky in the meadow. As secretary-director of the water board, she is one of the organizers of the exercise. “But in the Netherlands, almost everything is low, our country is only designed for a certain amount of rain and you cannot just store all that water somewhere.”
Such an exercise, she says, is “definitely not for the stage.” Because you will have to think in advance – “in the cold phase” – which part of the country you will allow to fill with water. “What is realistic? Where do you have the least damage, the greatest chance of recovery? Do you choose the grassland or a retirement home?”
And ah, there finally sounds the drone of the Chinook in the distance. Cis Apeldoorn, prepared for anything, already puts in her earplugs.
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