Strengthening Flood Management Through US-Dutch Cooperation: Learning from a Large Scale Flood Exercise in the Netherlands - Part II: Process Report

Abstract

In response to a request from the Directorate General of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Water Management in the Netherlands to COT a network of institutions with expertise in emergency management, risk and disasters was initiated in September 2008. Representatives from two US institutions, Disaster Research Center (DRC) at University of Delaware and the Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management at George Washington University, provided a US perspective. The objective of the collaboration was to develop background knowledge for, participate as observers in, and derive lessons learned from the Dutch flood-exercise week “Waterproef”, organized by the Flood Management Taskforce (TMO, Taskforce Management Overstromingen) in November 2008. COT served as the coordinating institution. This report is part II of a larger report. Part I of the reports focuses on the outcome of the project. In part I the observations are presented based on papers, interviews, refection meetings and the expert meeting. Part II gives a brief overview of the various activities in this project. This includes a description of the activities during the Waterproef week (November 3-7) in addition to a number of observations that were discussed throughout different ‘reflection’ meetings. It must be noted here that the issues raised are not part of an evaluation. The issues raised are a number of observations that were discussed; the issues raised are first impressions. This second part of the report also includes the papers that were written during this project. Furthermore, we need to express that this report is confidential and should be treated as such.