Tech failure nearly caused massive flood in Amsterdam
On November 2, 2023, Amsterdam nearly faced flooding due to a two-hour technical failure at the IJmuiden sluice gates during Storm Ciarán, prompting Rijkswaterstaat to enhance monitoring and response measures.
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On November 2, 2023, Amsterdam narrowly avoided a significant flood due to a technical failure at the IJmuiden sluice gates, which are crucial for preventing North Sea water from entering the Netherlands. For approximately two hours, all seven sluice gates were inadvertently left open, allowing billions of liters of seawater to flow toward Amsterdam during Storm Ciarán. The issue arose when the control system switched to manual operation, but the cause of this malfunction remains unknown. The water level in the North Sea Canal rose significantly, but it was only after an alert employee from the Amstel, Gooi, and Vecht water board raised the alarm that action was taken to close the locks to the city center. By 6:00 a.m., the locks were secured, and the sluice gates were manually closed by 7:24 a.m. The water level had risen to 32 centimeters above the normal level, but the quick response prevented a disaster. In response to this incident, Rijkswaterstaat has implemented measures to enhance oversight and response capabilities at the sluice complex, including relocating operations to IJmuiden and providing 24/7 contractor support.
- A technical failure at the IJmuiden sluice gates nearly caused a flood in Amsterdam.
- The incident occurred during Storm Ciarán, with seawater flowing into the North Sea Canal for two hours.
- An alert employee prevented disaster by closing the locks after noticing the rising water levels.
- Rijkswaterstaat has taken steps to improve monitoring and response to prevent future incidents.
- The cause of the control system failure remains under investigation.
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12 commentsI'm surprised something as vital for the Netherlands as the IJmuiden sluice (also the largest in the world) wasn't staffed 24/7 until then.
Even if it's supposed to be reliable and automated, and having someone on watch 24/7 is somewhat expensive, it's nothing compared to the potential damage of a malfunction.
Perhaps the eagle-eyed Rijkswaterstaat employee should receive an honorarium from the insurance companies and Gemeente Amsterdam.
Also “Operating staff also received extra training.” - just like a standard SaaS major incident wrap up…
I'm glad we in tech are not the only ones that deal with these kind of monitoring issues.
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