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Flood control lessons from the Dutch as we enter a wetter future

A view of the damage after heavy rain and devastating floods in Waverly, Tennessee, (Peter Zay/Getty Images)
A view of the damage after heavy rain and devastating floods in Waverly, Tennessee, (Peter Zay/Getty Images)

Like many parts of the world, the Netherlands experienced heavy rainfall this year. But unlike its neighboring countries, it averted disastrous floods.

So if one of the most flood-prone countries in the world can avoid catastrophic flooding, are there lessons we can adapt for a wetter future due to climate change?

Henk Ovink, the Netherlands’ first special envoy for international water affairs, joins us from Glasgow.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a project aimed at strengthening the media’s focus on the climate crisis. WBUR is one of 400+ news organizations that have committed to a week of heightened coverage around the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Check out all our coverage here.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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