Flood exposure in Rotterdam's unembanked areas from 1970 to 2150: sensitivities to urban development, sea level rise, and adaptation

Oerlemans, Cees; van den Boomen, Martine; Rijcken, Ties; Kok, Matthijs

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3921-2025

Articles | Volume 25, issue 10

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3921-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-3921-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 25, issue 10

Research article

|

14 Oct 2025

Research article |

| 14 Oct 2025

Flood exposure in Rotterdam's unembanked areas from 1970 to 2150: sensitivities to urban development, sea level rise, and adaptation

Cees Oerlemans, Martine van den Boomen, Ties Rijcken, and Matthijs Kok

Data sets

Scripts and data of: "Flood exposure in Rotterdam’s unembanked areas from 1970 to 2150: sensitivities to urban development, sea level rise and adaptation Cees Oerlemans https://doi.org/10.4121/d1291401-708a-4d48-9d95-8259cfd987d2

Interactive computing environment

Scripts and data of: "Flood exposure in Rotterdam’s unembanked areas from 1970 to 2150: sensitivities to urban development, sea level rise and adaptation Cees Oerlemans https://doi.org/10.4121/d1291401-708a-4d48-9d95-8259cfd987d2

Short summary

This study analyses flood exposure in Rotterdam's unembanked areas from 1970 to 2150, exploring the interplay between rising sea levels, urban development, and flood protection measures. Without measures, flood exposure will increase, especially after 2100. The Maeslant storm surge barrier had the most impact on flood exposure, followed by sea level rise and urban development. Varied exposure levels across neighbourhoods suggest the need for localized adaptation strategies.