Rotterdam Area

God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands, or so the saying goes.

Just a few centuries ago, 2/3 of what is now the Netherlands was under water. Now, 26 percent of the Netherlands lies below sea level due to land reclamation efforts. Coupled with vulnerable river areas, a total of 59 percent faces flood risk from severe sea storms or high river discharge.

But as Johan Cruijff would say, every disadvantage carries its own advantage. Water abundance in the Netherlands has spawned economic opportunities. The Rotterdam harbor, dubbed the ‘mouth of Europe’, boasts a yearly freight throughput exceeding 400 million tons. Yet, with energy at its heart, the vast complex – housing many refineries and storing hazardhous chemicals – comes with its own risks. A simple spark can be sufficient to create disaster. Perhaps even more so now familiar threats will soon be accompanied by the new threats that come along with the energy transition.

To manage such risks effectively, there has been a recent shift towards integrating formal disaster risk management with bottom-up approaches. Rotterdam, in particular, has embraced a culture of preparedness, evident in grassroots initiatives addressing the 2015 and 2022 refugee crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, there are still gaps in effectively integrating spontaneous volunteers, especially in the preparedness and learning phases of disasters.

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To manage such risks effectively, there has been a recent shift towards integrating formal disaster risk management with bottom-up approaches.

Rotterdam, in particular, has embraced a culture of preparedness, evident in grassroots initiatives addressing the 2015 and 2022 refugee crises and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, there are still gaps in effectively integrating spontaneous volunteers, especially in the preparedness and learning phases of disasters.

What if the Netherlands would end up in a perfect storm? What if the Rotterdam harbor floods, and, as a result, hazardous chemicals are released? What would the authorities tell citizens? To evacuate or to stay inside? What can citizens do to meaningfully help managing this disaster without putting additional burden on emergency services? These are the dilemmas central to the Rotterdam Preparedness Case.

The Netherlands Red Cross, the Unified Fire Brigade of Rotterdam and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam will set up this case in 2026 together with the Local Support Team for SYNERGIES to tackle the following critical questions:

How to integrate effective strategies for managing spontaneous volunteers into flexible preparedness plans?

How to effectively facilitate mutual learning and knowledge exchange between formal actors and volunteers?

How do and can businesses integrate emergency activities in the local context, especially in cascading effects?

To explore opportunities for disaster management improvement, participants will employ and evaluate SYNERGIES’ interventions in the Rotterdam Preparedness Case.

By integrating these interventions into
preparedness plans, SYNERGIES aims to:

1

effectively mobilise of spontaneous volunteers and optimise of their deployment;

2

enable informal actors to meaningfully contribute to disaster management through effective communication with formal actors;

3

implement effective approaches for knowledge exchange, training, and learning among all actors involved.

By integrating these interventions into
preparedness plans, SYNERGIES aims to:

1

effectively mobilise of spontaneous volunteers and optimise of their deployment;

2

enable informal actors to meaningfully contribute to disaster management through effective communication with formal actors;

3

implement effective approaches for knowledge exchange, training, and learning among all actors involved.

Complementary to the Rotterdam Preparedness Case, SYNERGIES organises validation activities to assess the effectiveness and scalability of the interventions. These activities include workshops, roundtables, small-scale simulations, and tabletop exercises.