1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Part 2: Netherlands - An island in the city of Nijmegen

February 22, 2013

The Netherlands is sinking steadily. Almost half the country already lies at or below sea level, and the only way people can protect themselves is with flood protection programs.

https://p.dw.com/p/17QjP
01.2013 DW Europa aktuell Kleine Welten Nimwegen

In Nijmegen, near the Dutch border with Germany, dredgers are about to change one of the country's oldest cities drastically. The River Waal will no longer flow around Nijmegen but through it. The Room for the River program is designed to remove a bottleneck formed by the Waal which has led to high water and floods in the past, and thus protect residents from flooding. An entire city district will then be in the middle of the river. Many families have been resettled to accommodate the plan. Whether they will ever be able to return to their cottages remains to be seen.

Künstliche Insel in Nijmegen, Niederlande. DW Eigendreh Copyright: DW
Geplante künstliche Insel in NimwegenImage: DW