CBC: The hurricane that has devastated Texas and Louisiana — and the catastrophic flooding in Sierra Leone and South East Asia — serve as sobering reminders of just how powerful and deadly water can be.

As sea levels rise and so-called “once-in-a-lifetime” storms like Hurricane Harvey become more intense, communities around the world are scrambling to find ways to deal with water that falls from the sky or encroaches on shorelines from the sea.

There’s one country that has about a thousand-year head start in learning how to manage water. The Netherlands was wrested from the North Sea, and about a third of the country lies below sea level. With its complex system of dikes, pumps and sand dunes, the Netherlands has one of the most sophisticated anti-flood systems in the world.

The Dutch have discovered that it’s better to find ways to let the water in, rather than fighting to keep it out. Continue reading>>