I visited the supercomputer centre at UEindhoven back in the 1990s. All the hardware was up on the first floor, which of course meant serious load bearing construction. But this is why.
> Not just the Netherlands, most of Europe counts floors like this: ground, first, second, etc.
I think it wildly differs all around Europe.
In Spain for example, if someone says "1st floor" it can be two or three floors above the actual ground floor, if there is a "Entresuelo" or "Principal", and you start counting after those. Actual ground floor is "bajo".
On the other hand you have the "atico" (attic) which is the top level floor, unless there is a "sobre atico" ("above the attic"), so just because you live in the attic doesn't mean you live on the top floor.
Then every region can have their own convention, or even difference in neighborhoods in the same city.
I'm not sure how many countries in Europe count like that, the online information is totally unreliable. For example:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/mvnkja/floor_numbe...
That map is absolutely incorrect for a bunch of countries, e.g. the Nordic ones.
I would say it's not counting from zero but it's a "ground floor" (that's basically were your door is) and the floor above is the first floor. There's no "zeroeth floor".
Why though? Eindhoven is about 17 meters above sea level, and the Dommel seems hardly big enough to pose a serious flood risk. (It obviously does flood every once in a while, but usually not near the university area)
Ironically enough the parts that flood the most in the Netherlands are the parts which are not below sea level. Just this week Doetinchem experienced some high water due to heavy rainfall [1]. In the south-east and east they sometimes also have problems with the amount of water the rivers over there have to process. In both cases the problem is the river can't process the water fast enough.
The parts below sea-level are mostly all in the delta area. Meaning there is little risk of rivers overflowing since they are at their widest in the delta. And as for rainfall; That just means pump water harder out of the "tub" then normal. As for the threat of sea-water in these areas, that's were the Delta Werken[2] are for.
