Abstract
Based on a brief account of 1,000 years of river floods and flood management in the Dutch Rhine delta, it is argued that vulnerability to river floods depends on the complex interaction of economics, institutions, politics and, to a limited extent, climate. Response functions and thresholds for climate change impacts should take this complexity into account rather than assuming society to be constant or evolving in a straightforward manner.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Downing, T.E., Olsthoorn, A.A. and Tol, R.S.J.: 1996, Climate Change and Extreme Events-Altered Risk, Socioeconomic Impacts and Policy Responses, Institute for Environmental Studies, R96/04 and Environmental Change Unit, Research Report 12, Vrije Universiteit and University of Oxford, Amsterdam and Oxford.
Gottschalk, M.K.E.: 1971, Sea Surges and River Floods (three volumes), Assen (in Dutch).
Langen, A.: 1995, ‘History of River Floods in the Dutch Rhine Delta’, Institute for Environmental Studies W95/16, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (in German).
Langen, A. and Tol, R.S.J.: 1996, ‘A concise history of riverine floods and flood management in the Dutch Rhine Delta’, in Downing, T.E., Olsthoorn, A.A. and Tol, R.S.J. (eds.), Climate Change and Extreme Events-Altered Risk, Socio-economic Impacts and Policy Responses, Institute for Environmental Studies and Environmental Change Unit Research Report, Vrije Universiteit and University of Oxford, Amsterdam and Oxford, pp. 129-138.
Penning-Rowsell, E., Handmer, J. and Tapsell, S.: 1996, ‘Extreme events and climate change: floods’, in Downing, T.E., Olsthoorn, A.A. and Tol, R.S.J. (eds.), Climate Change and Extreme Events-Altered Risk, Socio-economic Impacts and Policy Responses, Institute for Environmental Studies and Environmental Change Unit Research Report, Vrije Universiteit and University of Oxford, Amsterdam and Oxford, pp. 97-128.
Stol, H.: 1993, Rising Water, Falling Land-History of the Netherlands and the Water, Utrecht/Antwerpen (in Dutch).
Van de Ven, G.P. (ed.): 1993, Liveable Lowland-History of Water Control and Land Reclamation in The Netherlands, Utrecht (in Dutch).
Van der Grijp, N. and Olsthoorn, A.A.: 1998, ‘Case study international framework for the management of the rivers Rhine and Meuse in the Netherlands’, SIRCH Working Paper, Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tol, R.S.J., Langen, A. A Concise History of Dutch River Floods. Climatic Change 46, 357–369 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005655412478
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005655412478