Citation

Otten H, Bakker P. Dredg. Port. Constr. Ser. 2 2006; (DEC): 18-21.

Affiliation

North Sea Directorate of Holland's Rijkswaterstaat

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, DMG World Media)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Adoption of more proactive coastal engineering approaches along with Dutch expertise in maintaining sea defenses could mitigate the effects of storm surges typically of the more dangerous US hurricanes such as Hurricane Katrina. Dutch experience with the creation of sandy structures in the Middle and Far East, combined with creation and maintenance of sandy sea defenses could be a feasible way of improving safety levels. The dredging approach shows that coarse sand is the best material for constructing barrier islands since it enables a steep slope in front of the island to be built and gives erosion protection from winds and currents. In order to protect the land behind the barriers rear basin from the flooding due to storm surges, the islands must be high and wide enough to avoid breaching. Barrier islands also create a sheltered back barrier in which existing marshland will be protected from further degeneration.