Flood damage to port industry
Abstract
Flood damage to port industry. Case study: vulnerability of the port of Rotterdam to climate change - Jeroen Admiraal
Sea ports will experience many consequences of climate change; most of all rising water levels. However, no accepted method exists to assess flood damage to port industry. This study aims to illustrate a methodology to assess flood damage by climate change to port industry and infrastructure.
A survey is given of known flood damage models from around the world and their characteristics. A comprehensive overview is given of the most recent estimations of the replacement value of port industry and infrastructure, and of the most detailed knowledge available about damage curves, which illustrate the direct economic damage to structures per inundation depth. From these surveys, a synthetic flood damage methodology is set up and applied to the port of Rotterdam, the largest port of Europe. Using premade climate change scenarios developed specifically for the port of Rotterdam, the vulnerability of the port to climate change is investigated.
The case study concludes that the unembanked areas of port of Rotterdam are very vulnerable to rising costs of flood events due to climate change. In comparison with the current situation (2010), the possible total costs of a flood event in 2050 range from approximately half as much to more than 6 times as much in cost. For 2100, the costs can be up to 14 times as high in comparison to 2010. The adaptation measure ‚lockable/open‛ does not provide a substantial relief in damage costs.
