National High Water and Flooding Emergency Response Plan Part 1: Policy Scenario 1 Published by The Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Directorate-General for Public Safety and Security Crisis Control Department P.O. Box 100 3970 AC Driebergen [email protected] www.minbzk.nl Production control and printing Graphic and Multimedia Services/ Communications and Information Department Design Van Erkelens graphic design company, The Hague Typesetting Aeroset, Rijswijk ZH No rights can be derived from this publication. The information contained in this publication may be duplicated providing this publication is stated as the source. 6150/8347-GMD13 January 2007 2 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 5 1.1 Introduction 5 1.2 Objective 5 1.3 Target Group 6 1.4 Definitions of High Water and Flooding 6 1.5 Part of the National High Water and Flooding Emergency Response Plan 7 1.6 Relation to High Water and Storm Flood Crises handbook of the Ministry of Transport Public Works and Water Management 7 1.7 Management 7 1.8 Explanatory note 8 2 Approach: underlying premises 9 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 Scenarios: what can we expect and how does this affect the measures described in this scenario? 9 2.2.1 What can we expect 9 2.3 How it affects the action of the crisis control organisation: Step-by-step scaling up structure 11 2.4 High water = trans-regional action 14 2.5 Trans-regional action = national management 15 3 National crisis control agencies and agencies involved 17 3.1 Introduction 17 3.2 Role of municipal, regional and provincial crisis agencies 17 3.3 Role of the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations 17 3.4 Inter-ministerial information and coordination: the parties, their tasks and powers 21 3.4.1 The actors 21 3.4.2 Contact safety regions, provinces and water board councils 25 3.5 Inter-ministerial information and coordination: the information and decision-making process 27 4 Process 29 4.1 Introduction 29 4.2 Description of process phases 0.1 and 2 30 4.3 Description of process phase 3 33 4 Proces 29 4.1 Inleiding 29 4.2 Beschrijving proces fasen 0,1 en 2 30 4.3 Beschrijving proces fase 3 33 5 The Departmental Coordination Centres and their networks 55 5.1 Introduction 55 Overview of State roles in the event of High Water 57 5.2 Overview of crisis structures of DCCs 57 5.2.1 Network diagram: Departmental Coordination Centre (DCC) Ministry of Transport Public Works and Water Management 57 3 5.2.2 Network diagram: Departmental Coordination Centre (DCC) Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality 58 5.2.3 Network diagram: Departmental Coordination Centre (DCC) Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment 59 5.2.4 Network diagram: Departmental Coordination Centre (DCC) Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sport 60 5.2.5 Network diagram: Departmental Coordination Centre (DCC) Ministry of Economic Affairs 61 Annex 1 Definitions / Abbreviations 63 Annex 2 Relevant websites 65 Annex 3 Map of Safety Regions 67 Annex 4 Water board councils 69 Annex 5 Dike Rings 71 Annex 6 Remits of warning agencies and role of the LCO 75 Annex 7 Overview of alarm/phasing of warning agencies 79 Annex 8 Scaling up diagrams: Coast and Ijsselmeer area 81 Annex 9 Accountability method for generic high water scenarios 83 Annex 10 Bottom-up information lines in inter-regional flooding 91 Annex 11 Overview of measures per strategy and per emergency management process 97 Annex 12 large-scale flood scenarios 99 Annex 13 Bibliography 101 4 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction Flood emergency response plans in the Netherlands have so far generally dealt with emergency scenarios on a regional scale and focus on efforts in the region concerned. Central government plays a limited role in the plans or is implicitly assigned a passive (reactive) role. In the event of high water the (impending) disaster will strike multiple regions simultaneously and regions that are not hit will also be involved in coming to the aid of the affected regions and in the care of people evacuated from the regions. Preparations confined to municipal or regional level are insufficient. The current situation has much to do with the fact that, in the Netherlands, the tasks and powers involved in dealing with contingencies are primarily charged to decentral agencies. With regard to the role of the State in trans-regional calamities, a variety of expectations have gradually evolved. That trans-regional calamities must be coordinated by the State is widely supported.1 This policy scenario describes how the State puts this coordinating role into practice. The scenario is part of the National High Water and Flooding Emergency Response Plan. The National High Water and Flooding Emergency Response Plan contains: 1. The National High Water and Flooding Policy Scenario 2. The National High Water and Flooding Operational Strategy 3. The National High Water and Flooding Communications Strategy 1.2 Objective This policy scenario sets out the ways in which the State will take practical measures to tackle high water and flooding. This scenario describes inter-ministerial action: • In mutual relations (information and decision making) • Towards provinces and safety regions • Towards ministerial network partners The objective of this scenario is to describe an approach which will enable the parties involved both administratively and operationally to respond optimally to the (imminent) flood, thereby containing and/or managing the consequences of the flooding as effectively as possible. The National Crisis Decision-Making Handbook (Handboek Crisisbesluitvorming) served as the context for this scenario. Parallel to developing this scenario, the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management is developing a national High Water and Storm Flood Crises handbook (landelijk draaiboek Hoogwater- en Stormvloedcrises). 1 See report of the administrative congress of 31 May 2006 5 The scenario of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management sets out the action to be taken by, and arrangements between, the various agencies in the water sector. The arrangements in this scenario are in line with those in the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management handbook the national Evacuation handbook.2 1.3 Target group This policy scenario is intended for all agencies involved in the inter-ministerial crisis control organisation and for those which, on the basis of their role in a sector relevant to high water and flooding, are in contact with this organisation (such as crisis coordinators in the water sector). The scenario is also intended for those within the administrative sector who, thanks to the role they play in their own crisis organisation must coordinate with representatives of the inter-ministerial crisis organisation (regional managers and operational leaders) at some point. An extra resource, the Guide on Managing the Impact of High Water (Handreiking Hoogwatergevolgbestrijding) has been developed within this project for these target groups. This guideline (brochure) offers an overview of the ‘chain moments’ between regional (municipal, provincial, functional) and central decision making and offers a clarification of the connection between the regional and inter-ministerial decision-making structures. 1.4 Definitions: Flooding and High Water The National High Water and Flooding Emergency Response Plan is directed at activities that focus on managing, containing and preventing the consequences of an imminent and/or actual flood. We refer to flooding if a dike is breached and/or substantial quantities of water overflow considerable stretches of a water defence such that the influx of water cannot be halted by taking emergency measures.3 The definition ‘flooding’ concerns rivers, coastal areas and lakes and the large-scale consequences of the flood in terms of human lives and damage. Flooding results from a combination of natural causes (storm and/or heavy rain) and human or technical failure.4 It is assumed that a canal bursting its banks can be dealt with as a regional emergency. The National Operational Strategy not only relates to the actual flooding but also to all the activities directed at managing, containing and combating the consequences of an imminent flood, also referred to as high water.5 High water occurs when the water rises above a specific pre-defined level; the water defences have not yet been breached. Although in this situation the disaster has not (yet) taken place, it is considered a crisis situation and large scale action is taken: full crisis control measures are mobilised (pre-crisis response). This situation thus differs from that of many other types of emergencies (post-crisis response). High water can, but is not necessarily, followed by flooding. In other words, the scenario not only describes the action taken in the event of a flood, but also the warning stages and the measures to be taken if flooding is imminent.6 2 Expected in 2007. 3 Project Nationale Veiligheid, zelfevaluatie Toenemen Overstromingsrisico (2006), p. 6 4 It may also be due to malicious intent. This scenario applies to tackling the results of such a situation; the action of the Ministry of Justice in the framework of the Terrorism scenarios runs parallel to this. 5 The term ‘high water’ is used to refer to rivers and the Ijsselmeer, while the term ‘flood’ is used to refer to coastal waters. To avoid the impression that this concerns two different types of emergency, we will use one term only in this document: high water. 6 For an impression of a large-scale flood, see annex 12. 6 To avoid misconceptions, in this plan we use the term ‘high water impact control’ for all activities directed at managing, containing and preventing the consequences of an imminent of actual flood.