As Sea Levels Sink Islands, Rotterdam Shows The World How to Live With Water

When storms hit major cities such as New York, it is usually the storm surge that will do most damage because of the rising water coming with low atmospheric pressure.

However, when a big storm hits Rotterdam, or when sea levels rise even higher, the city will remain unharmed by surging waters - thanks to the Maeslant storm surge barrier.

This structure now stands as the world's biggest mobile barrier. It's size is comparable to two steel lattices that are twice larger than the Eiffel Tower. These lattices lie on both sides of the channel connecting Rotterdam to the North Sea. The Dutch built the gate more than twenty years ago to protect the Netherlands' second-largest city from up to a three-meter wave surge, a time when the world knew remotely about climate change, global warming and the looming sea level rise.

The Netherlands has been known worldwide for their advanced flood control and ingenious technology of handling sea level rise, necessary as about half of the small European country lives below sea level. The country also prides in long-term urban planning, making city plans for even up to a hundred years later.

The Maeslant barrier will be able to protect Rotterdam from surges, tidal waves, and rising sea levels, even up to a catastrophic once-in-a-10,000-year storm, says Peter Persoon, one of the barrier's engineers who also serves as a tour guide to visitors. He compared the barrier to that of the levees that protected New Orleans before the Hurricane Katrina and said that the latter was built for a once-in-100-year storm. Although the Maeslant barrier cost $500 million, Persoon believes that this is money well-spent as the country is investing to fight climate change and its effects on the small nation.

When people ask about the cost of the barrier, guys like Persoon compare the preventive measure's cost to that of the damage should a major flood hit Rotterdam - over 700 billion euros. "And with sea level rising and storms getting stronger, who knows how many times the city will be flooded without the barrier."

Innovations like these is the reason why the Netherlands has become a learning hub for other countries heavily impacted by rising sea level and stronger storms. Hoards of delegates from all over the world run to the country and absorb their technology like sponges, and the Dutch are more than happy to share their knowledge to the world. Even with their successes in innovation, the effects of sea-level rise are just beginning to surface, which means that adapting to it would still be a work in progress for centuries to come, even for the Dutch.