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Disasters on the border of our abilities Disasters do not take into account geopolitical boundaries. Each country has its own structures and legislation to deal with. When a disaster occurs at or around national borders and cooperation is necessary, the existing structures and legislation of the countries involved must be able to reconcile. In this article, the current situation between neighboring countries Belgium and the Netherlands is discussed. The legislation and structures for disaster management per country, as well as the possible obstacles in case of cooperation are described. Several agreements have already been made at a regional, provincial and national level. A legal framework has also been created at European level to facilitate international aid. However, there are still several obstacles to overcome. The disaster management of neighboring countries does not seem to be well known to aid workers, the communication between countries is not yet optimal and international exercises are hardly carried out. Therefore, a couple of recommendations to improve international cooperation in the border areas are given.

Flooding and climate change: the impact of inundations on hospitals In the future, climate change is expected to increase the risk and occurrence of extreme weather events, including flooding. This means that hospitals must take into account situations in which severe weather or natural disasters endanger the continuity of care. Hospitals must therefore include a water test in their technical design and take this into account in their contingency plans, in which a total evacuation only needs to be considered as a last resort. Coordination with other hospitals, the government, fire brigade, Red Cross, military and other actors in emergency services is crucial, as are joint multidisciplinary exercises and simulations. In the summer of 2021, this turned out to be not only a theoretical threat, but pure and harsh reality. In this article, the impact of the threat of flooding on Belgian and Dutch hospitals along the river Meuse, as well as their previous experiences and approaches to this precarious situation in the summer of 2021 are described. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, contingency plans and evacuation protocols are also required to take into account specific hygienic measures, which make the response to such calamities even more challenging. In this article, the risks of flooding for the health care sector are discussed and suggestions for daily practice are provided.

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