The FIER Dutch mid-term event took place on 11 November at the Province House in Middelburg, bringing together around fifty participants from municipalities, safety regions, water authorities, Rijkswaterstaat, Deltares, and other organisations for a day focused on flood resilience. The meeting, hosted by the Safety Region Zeeland, the Municipality of Dordrecht, and the Province of Zeeland, featured presentations, strong engagement and lively discussions.
Zeeland presents first results
The Province of Zeeland opened the plenary programme. They introduced the digital twin developed for Zeeland, which models worst-case flood scenarios and their consequences for road networks, electricity infrastructure, and critical societal functions. The visualisations illustrated the significant impact of flooding, making the risks more tangible for participants.
Initial recovery analyses were shared, showing which systems would fail, which remain functional, and what can be restored quickly. These insights will be further explored during a December hackathon with municipalities. The session prompted many questions, particularly on cascading effects, the influence of heavy rainfall, and coordinated responses when neighbouring regions are affected simultaneously. The presentation also addressed cross-border impacts and challenges in data comparability between the Netherlands and Flanders.
Safety Region Zeeland and Dordrecht share tools and experience
The Safety Region Zeeland presented a decision support tool, evacuation analyses, an evacuation tool, and an e-learning module that are under development. The presentation emphasized the weight of evacuation decisions and the importance of understanding who should evacuate, who can stay, and how residents can support each other. In the words of Safety Region Zeeland: "FIER helps us and our stakeholders better prepare for flooding, as shown by the lively discussions in the workshops and the strong interest in our FIER projects."
The Municipality of Dordrecht shared its long-term work on multilayer safety. The city has invested in awareness and resilience for two decades, driven by repeated flooding events and political commitment. The discussion highlighted broad interest in how similar resilience efforts can be developed in other regions.
Workshops with strong interaction
Afternoon workshops saw high participation. A serious game demonstrated how the digital twin can support crisis decision-making, providing participants with a realistic sense of information needs during an acute flood threat. Other sessions focused on the decision support tool, multilayer safety, and the experiences of residents recovering from water damage in the aftermath of storms. These discussions underscored that recovery could take years, even in areas not directly flooded.
New connections
Participants highlighted the relevance of the event for broader crisis preparedness. Advisors from other municipalities noted parallels with wildfire management, observing that recommendations on crisis response and evacuation can often be applied across different types of emergencies. The digital twin also revealed how road adjustments for flood evacuation could be relevant for other disaster scenarios, providing opportunities to integrate planning across fields.
The event concluded with thanks from the organisers, emphasizing the progress made within FIER and the strong motivation of partners to continue working together towards a more resilient North Sea region.