Welcome to Ostend, the iconic seaside city under pressure from climate change
As the Flanders Environment Agency (VMM), we're proud to host the STORMSAFE consortium in a place where the urgency of climate adaptation is impossible to ignore. Our climate portal reveals a sobering picture: Ostend faces twice the risk coastal flooding and four times the risk of pluvial flooding compared to other areas in Flanders. And those risks are only increasing.
At VMM, we don't stand still. We invest in future-resilient infrastructure and partner across Europe to improve systems and share knowledge. Projects like STORMSAFE empower us to act now - to protect our cities, our people, and our economy.
In this vlog, Sophie shares why Ostend is both a symbol of beauty and a hotspot for climate risk - and how collaboration is key to keeping it safe.
This video was made during the STORM_SAFE annual meeting in the city of Ostend on May 20-22, 2025. Copyright on video and images: Anja Daleman.