NOORDWAARD DEMONSTRATOR

The Noordwaard area in the Biesbosch nature reserve will be structured in the coming years as a flood-prone area that can be used when water levels are extremely high. People live in the area, which also houses economic activities. This project will look at effective communications structures and information systems as support the safe use of the Noordwaard in the future.

Parts of the Noordwaard will be flooded once a year on average. The probability of a large part of the Noordwaard being used, in conjunction with an evacuation, is much smaller but still 2 to 20 times higher than elsewhere in the rivers area. Even though the Noordwaard is an area that has been well designed, where decision-making and evacuation can be properly controlled, using the area in this way is not free of risk.

This project studies the information requirements and the communications structure required to deploy emergency measures effectively. The research will look at the use of the Noordwaard as a flood-prone area. Although the use of the Noordwaard in the future is a component of the standard flood protection system along the large rivers, this measure is also highly suitable as a model for the deployment of emergency measures.

The Noordwaard Crisis Management Demonstrator is a research tool (a 'serious game') for demonstrating and simulating the situation in the Noordwaard in the future. The Demonstrator will be used to study the information requirements and the necessary communications structures in an interactive way with the organisations involved. In addition, the research is looking at how using a demonstrator can contribute to the development a crisis management plan and education.