EU-INTACT-case studies: Impact of extreme weather on critical Infrastructure

¹ Deltares, Boussinesqweg 1, 2629 HV Delft, The Netherlands
² Pantea, Bredewater 26, 2715 CA Zoetermeer, The Netherlands

^a Corresponding author: kees.vanruiten@deltares.nl

Abstract

The resilience of critical infrastructures (CI) to Extreme Weather Events (EWE) is one of the most salient and demanding challenges facing society. Growing scientific evidence suggests that more frequent and severe weather extremes such as heat waves, hurricanes and droughts and their effects such as flooding are having an ever increasing impact, with the range and effects on society exacerbated when CI is disrupted or destroyed. Disruptions of CI systems frequently cause major social and economic losses, both directly and through failures in one system leading to disruptions in another (cascading effects). The ability to ensure continuity in services provided by CI directly relates to the resilience of communities to withstand and recover from disasters. The approach adopted by the INTACT-project recognizes that a European-wide coordinated and cooperative effort is required because of cross border CI-activities and impacts as well as an integrated EU-policy.

The INTACT-case studies and their expected outcomes are designed to bring added value for the concerned stakeholders locally and demonstrate the validity and applicability of the INTACT approach at the broader (European) scale. To achieve this, the selected case studies are geographically spread across Europe encompassing different climate, landscape and environmental zones, as to provide coverage of a representative range of CI types and also including different levels of governance.

One of the case studies is located in the Netherlands and deals with the port of Rotterdam. The situation in Rotterdam is representative for many other main ports in Europe. These ports are all situated in a delta area, near the sea and rivers or canals. Also, these ports are close to urban areas and industrial complexes. Finally, these ports have a multimodal transport infrastructure to and from its hinterland, which is also vulnerable for extreme weather events. The case study is not only significant for the development of methods and tools, but also of direct interest for the region itself. The combination of the National Water safety policy and the best practices from the INTACT cases offer challenges to create better adaptation options and coping capacity to these relatively unforeseen and unexpected impacts based on climate change scenario’s and socio-economic megatrends.