Disaster Prevention in Urban Environments

Disasters always have very undesirable consequences, especially when they
occur in urban environments. This paper discusses some problems with regard to
disaster prevention policy in the Netherlands. This policy was put to the test in May
2000, when a devastating fireworks accident in the Dutch town Enschede took place,
destroying a significant part of the built environment of this town, with an
investigation by an independent evaluation committee painfully highlighting the
failure of the local and national authorities’ preventative policies. The Enschede
disaster stimulated many new activities at various levels of government with regard to
the need to improve disaster prevention and control. However, recent studies reveal
that the lessons of Enschede have yet to be put into practice. This raises questions
about the usefulness of a ‘command-and-control’ prevention approach. Alternative
approaches are discussed and a comparison is made with the implementation of a
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).