Never again: A deadly 1953 flood prompted a massive Dutch effort to build seawalls and surge barriers. Climate change is prompting a new shift, toward intensive flood-risk analysis and resilient construction. Credit: CO Zeylemaker/AFP/Getty Images

The lowest point in western Europe is 6.74 meters below sea level and falling. It lies in a boggy area of decomposing peat outside the cheese mecca of Gouda, the Netherlands, and is identified by a seven-meter marker plunked into a brackish pool at the entrance to the Van Vliet truck dealership. (The dealership's owner erected the marker, taking a little license with the facts; the actual low spot is a few hundred meters away.) The Fodor's travel guide does not mention this corner of ­Holland, but it's a focal point for the question of how to plan for the risks and realities of climate change.

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