Dike guard training for crisis situations: ‘They are the first eyes and ears in case of danger’

It’s half past nine on a Saturday morning. About seventy dyke guards from the Vechtstream Water Board report to Hardenberg. A layer of frost covers the ground and the hats and gloves are put on and put on for training. The dike guards walk around in groups of five to six volunteers and have to carry out checks at various signs.

After two years, the crisis exercise for the voluntary dike guards continues. And that is important, they are the first eyes and ears in case of danger.

Two dike guards are linked together with a safety rope. One walks over the dike, the other at the bottom. If something happens at the water’s edge, we take care of each other in this way. They pay attention to possible danger. Molehills, floods, the water level. Anything that deviates is fed back to headquarters via an app.

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