Lessons learned from Evacuation and Emergency Measures during the summer 2021 floods in the Netherlands.

Abstract

In July 2021 catastrophic flooding has occurred in the south of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. During this event various evacuation notices have been issued in the Netherlands. Over 50.000 inhabitants received the call to evacuate mainly along the Dutch parts of the River Meuse and tributary rivers as the Geul. In this paper, we will therefor chronicle the events related to evacuation and emergency measures, in order to draw lessons for future planning of emergency response related to flooding in the Netherlands. We have identified the relation with warning, different types of evacuation and discuss the role of forecasts.