Articles | Volume 13, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-691-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-13-691-2017
Research article
 | 
14 Sep 2017
Research article |  | 14 Sep 2017

Recurrence intervals for the closure of the Dutch Maeslant surge barrier

Henk W. van den Brink and Sacha de Goederen
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Short summary
The movable Dutch Maeslant surge barrier closes when the city of Rotterdam is threatened by floods due to a big storm on the North Sea. However, the barrier might get damaged and repair may be needed. The question is what is the probability that a second closure is necessary during the repair time? We solve the problem by using a huge dataset of weather situations that accumulates to more than 6000 years. It is found that two closures within a month occur on average once in every 150 years.