Helping Vidaa adapt to climate change

It is important to incorporate the expected impacts of climate change in current spatial planning, where long-term investments are envisaged. In particular, the risks posed to infrastructure by expected increases in heavy precipitation and catchment runoff & sea level rise (such as river dikes) have become a major concern today. The Vidaa River system is one such example, where flood risk and dike safety are of concern with respect to climate change. We conducted extensive studies on the Vidaa River system with our hydrological and hydraulic models as well as our extreme value and risk analysis tools. We also conducted comprehensive analyses of the flood risk and the probability of dike overtopping in the near and distant future. We based these analyses on downscaled regional climate model projections. Informed decisions on climate adaptation can now be taken on the basis of our projections.