US EditionSummer Floods of July 2021 Exposed Meuse River's Vulnerability
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6 Articles
Summer floods of July 2021 exposed Meuse river's vulnerability
Four years ago, summer floods in Limburg—in the south of the Netherlands—drastically altered the riverbed of the Meuse, making accurate high-water forecasts even more difficult than usual. "This shows just how vulnerable and unpredictable the Meuse really is," says researcher Hermjan Barneveld.
Hydrology: Due to extreme rainfall, the level of the Meuse rose sharply in July 2021. In narrower sections, the flow speed increased and the bottom eroded.
The high water of summer 2021 significantly altered the riverbed in some areas. This appears to be an unintended consequence of measures to make the river safer.
In July 2021, parts of the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium were hit by one of Europe's worst natural disasters in the past fifty years. Nearly 200 people died in Germany, dozens more were killed in Belgium, and the total damage amounted to an astronomical 46 billion euros. But according to the latest scientific insights, it […] Want to know more about science? Read the latest articles on Scientias.nl .
Unexpected vulnerability of Meuse after summer high water 2021
10.07.2025 - The extreme summer high water of July 2021 showed how vulnerable and unpredictable the Meuse (Maas) is. Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (Hermjan Barneveld and Ton Hoitink) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Willem Toonen), among others, discovered that the bottom of the Maas changed drastically in a short time.
The 2021 floods in Limburg caused holes "as deep as fifteen meters" in the Meuse River. This was because water flowed much faster in narrow sections of the river than in the floodplains. Research should help improve high water forecasting.
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