Netherlands Makes Way for Rising Waters

摘要

Students of judo learn the art of defeating stronger opponents by giving way to their blows and relying on skill rather than brute force. In much the same way, after years of fighting floods by building bigger and stronger dikes, the Netherlands is now adopting a radically different approach: giving way to the flood-waters by making room for them in the nation's rivers. The Meuse River, the Rhine River, and the Rhine's major distributaries-the Waal, the Lek, and the IJssel-flow through the center of the Netherlands on their way to the North Sea. Floods have repeatedly threatened this low-lying region. Over the centuries, the Dutch have responded by raising and reinforcing an elaborate system of dikes.