From: Wim Nusselder (wim.nusselder@antenna.nl)
Date: Fri Sep 09 2005 - 06:36:02 BST
Dear Platt,
Why should the Dutch population be informed about how they are going to be
evacuated in case of flooding?? History suggests that our government is very
well able to do so in time. Don't forget that we don't have hurricanes here
and that the most likely causes of flooding (e.g. a rising level of a main
river or a storm plus spring tide that drives the sea against the dikes, as
in 1953) can usually be better foreseen and guarded against than that. The
most vulnerable dikes are patrolled in such cases. (But even hurricanes
leave more time for evacuation than the US government used.) I can
understand reticence on the part of the government. 'Preparedness' on the
part of the population for possible flooding may cause more unnecessary fear
than that it helps to prevent casualties. It also creates the false
perception that risk of casualties through flooding is higher than the risk
of casualties from other causes (that leave less time for evacuation), like
fires or chemical accidents in densely populated areas or (threats of)
terrorist bombings. In the very densely populated country of the
Netherlands, that has a centuries long tradition of preventing flooding,
these other causes are far more likely to cause casualties.
With friendly greetings,
Wim
----- Original Message -----
From: "Platt Holden" <pholden@sc.rr.com>
To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>; <owner-moq_discuss@venus.co.uk>
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 1:41 PM
Subject: Re: MD Katrina - Thousands Dead ?
> Dear Wim,
>
> > Dear Platt,
> >
> > You seem 6 Sep 14:52 -0400 to have misunderstood me when you wrote:
> > "Thanks for reporting on the Netherlands plans (or lack thereof) for
> > evacuation in case the dikes break. Frankly, I'm surprised. I thought if
> > anybody would be thoroughly prepared, it would be the Dutch. Maybe it's
> > human nature to believe "it can't happen to me." In any case, I hope the
> > Dutch faith in their dikes is never tested."
>
> If I misunderstood you I apologize. But you did write, "Dutch government
> does make calamity plans, but doesn't give the population much information
> about it." So I concluded that since the population was not well informed
> that the country was not "thoroughly prepared." In fact you repeat this
> lack of knowledge on the part of the Dutch populace in your description
> below: "We DO have good plans for evacuation even if the population at
> large doesn't know a lot about them." I consider that to be a weakness in
> the Dutch plan. Don't you?
>
> Best,
> Platt
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