NOAH’s ark

Context

During the serious flooding that occurred in recent years in North-West Europe (Rhine, Meuse, Escaut, Elbe, etc.) it was apparent that a considerable flow of information was circulating within each of the response services, among these services, and between the services and the public in general. But the “von Kirchbach report” on the flooding of the Elbe in 2002 showed that although relevant information was certainly available, it was not being transmitted to the right places, or not in a useful fashion. Rising water levels demand coordinated information management. This is the objective of the NOAH project: to provide reliable information rapidly, before and during crisis situations caused by flooding.

Rhine partnership

The project’s partners are Dutch and German organizations situated along the Rhine. Participants from Ireland, France, England, Scotland and Poland also have a role as observers or experts. The Dutch partners are the project coordinator STOWA (Foundation for water research), four water boards ("Waterschap") and the Ministry for transport and waterways (“Rijkswaterstaat-RIZA”). The German partners are the “Hochwasserschutzzentrale" (Centre for flood protection) in Cologne and, in the region of Bade-Wurtemberg, the “Regierungspräsidium" in Karlsruhe which comprises a federation of six administrative districts on the Rhine between Iffezheim and Mannheim.

With the expansion of NOAH from a river system to a coastal system, new partners that have joined the project: from Ireland, the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Dublin City Council (DCC); from Germany, the Erftverband; from the Netherlands, a department of the Ministry for transport and waterways, the Road and Hydraulic Engineering Division (“RWS DWW”) and the Delfland water board.

The right information, in the right place, at the right time

NOAH’s main objective is to manage information flow during flooding. Relevant information must be rapidly available, reliable, clear and transmitted to the right place – before, during and after a crisis. The target groups are, on the one hand, all professional decision-makers and managers concerned with water and, on the other hand, the public and the media. Based on close collaboration between the water boards and the emergency services, the “FLIWAS" information and communication system links alert and forecasting mechanisms with the various catastrophe scenarios.

The project’s second objective is to set up “flooding partnerships” between local authorities, the public and other socio-economic stakeholders who may be concerned by flooding. In times of crisis these partnerships facilitate the coordination of responses. At other times they act to keep people aware.

Result: The FLIWAS mechanism

The partners have set up a telematic mechanism named FLIWAS (FLood Information and WArning System) based on existing systems and data. FLIWAS brings together prediction systems, geographical information, alert plans, floodplane maps, catastrophe scenarios, etc. All this information is placed on a webGIS-type internet site, available even from a portable computer. It is classified and structured in such a way that decision-makers, water managers, response services and the public receive information (in German, English, Dutch and, potentially, other languages) which is relevant and tailored to their needs and responsibilities. Data is grouped in modules (9 at the outset) so it can be targeted and made available. Further modules can be added.

In the first stage, from spring 2006, FLIWAS will be implemented in the project’s partnership regions. After training all the parties concerned, and after three international exercises of realistic scale during 2006, FLIWAS will be accessible to all inhabitants of the flood zones in question. Once fully operational, the system can be transferred to other regions. In this respect, several participants, notably in the Danube basin, have shown interest in the NOAH project and the FLIWAS system. A process is planned to ensure that FLIWAS remains available beyond the confines of the NOAH project.