The North Sea flood of 1953 and the associated storm combined to create a major natural disaster which affected the coastlines of the Netherlands and England on the night of 31 January 1953 – 1 February 1953. Belgium, Denmark and France were also affected by flooding and storm damage. Mount Pinatubo eruption, 1991 A natural disaster is the consequence of the combination of a natural hazard (a physical event e. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm caused a storm tide. In combination with a tidal surge of the North Sea the waterlevel locally exceeded 5.6 meters above mean sea level. The flood and waves overwhelmed sea defences and caused extensive flooding. It has been suggested that Theory of tides be merged into this article or section. ... A European windstorm is a severe cyclonic storm that tracks across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe in the winter months. ... A storm tide is a tide with a high flood period caused by a storm. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Picture of flooding in Amphoe Sena, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. ...

Officially, 1,835 people were killed in the Netherlands, mostly in the south-western province of Zeeland. 307 were killed in the United Kingdom, in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 28 were killed in West Flanders, Belgium. Capital Middelburg Queens Commissioner drs. ... The traditional counties as usually portrayed. ... Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. ... Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... Suffolk (pronounced ) is a large historic and modern non-metropolitan county in East Anglia, England. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ...

Further loss of life exceeding 230 occurred on watercraft along Northern European coasts as well as in deeper waters of the North Sea; the ferry MV Princess Victoria was lost at sea in the North Channel with 133 fatalities, and many trawlers sank. Northern Europe is marked in dark blue Northern Europe is a name of the northern part of the European continent. ... The MV Princess Victoria sank on 31 January 1953 in the North Channel. ... The North Channel is the stretch of water which separates Scotland from the north of Ireland. ... A modern Icelandic trawler A trawler is a fishing vessel designed for the purpose of operating a trawl, a type of fishing net that is dragged along the bottom of the sea (or sometimes above the bottom at a specified depth). ...

North Sea flood in the Netherlands

In the night of 31 January/1 February 1953 many dykes in the provinces of Zeeland, Zuid-Holland and Noord-Brabant proved not to be resistant to the combination of spring tide and a northwesterly storm. On both the islands and the mainland large areas of country were completely flooded with water. Many people still commemorate the dead on February 1. January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Capital Middelburg Queens Commissioner drs. ... This article is about the province of the Netherlands. ... North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River (Maas) in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west. ... The tide is the regular rising and falling of the oceans surface caused by changes in gravitational forces external to the Earth. ...

Warnings

At the time of the disaster, none of the local radio stations broadcast at night, and many of the smaller weather stations operated only during the day, as a result of which the warnings of the KNMI did not penetrate the calamity area in time. People did not receive warning and were consequently unable to prepare for the impending flood. Telephone and telegraph networks were disrupted, and within hours amateur radio operators went in to the affected areas with their home-made radio equipment to form a voluntary emergency radio network. These well-organized radio amateurs worked tirelessly, providing radio communications for 10 days and nights, and were the only people maintaining contact with the outside world. In addition to the disaster happening during the night, it was Saturday night. As a result, many offices in the calamity area were unmanned. A technician examines a weather stations anemometer. ... Short for Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute). ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... An amateur radio operator An amateur radio operator is an individual who has been assigned an amateur radio license by a governmental regulatory authority. ...

Resulting damage

The floods put large parts of Zuid-Holland, Zeeland and Noord-Brabant under water. In North-Holland only one polder was flooded. The largest floodings occurred on the islands of Schouwen-Duiveland, Tholen, Sint Philipsland, Goeree-Overflakkee, the Hoeksche Waard, Voorne-Putten and Alblasserwaard. Parts of the islands of Zuid-Beveland, Noord-Beveland, IJsselmonde, Pernis, Rozenburg, Walcheren and Land van Altena were flooded, as well as parts of the areas around Willemstad, Nieuw-Vossemeer and parts of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The heaviest death toll was recorded at the islands of Schouwen-Duiveland and Goeree-Overflakkee. The government started the Delta-commission to study the causes and effects of the floodings. They estimated that flooding killed 1,835 people and forced the emergency evacuation of 70,000 more. Floods covered 9% of Dutch farmland, and sea water inundated 1.365 km² of land. An estimated 30,000 animals drowned, and 47,300 buildings were damaged of which 10.000 were destroyed. Total damage was estimated at that time at 895 million Dutch guilders. This article is about the province of the Netherlands. ... Capital Middelburg Queens Commissioner drs. ... North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River (Maas) in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west. ... Capital Haarlem Queens Commissioner Mr. ... Schouwen-Duiveland ( (help· info)) is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands. ... Tholen ( (help· info)) is a municipality and a city in the southwest of the Netherlands. ... Sint Philipsland () is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. ... Categories: Islands of the Netherlands | Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta | Netherlands geography stubs ... Satellite image of the Rhine-Meuse delta, showing the island of Hoekse Waard (6) Hoeksche Waard is an island between the Oude Maas, Dordtse Kil, Hollands Diep, Haringvliet and Spui rivers in the province of Zuid Holland in the Netherlands. ... Satellite image of the Rhine-Meuse delta, showing the island of Voorne-Putten (4 and 5) Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of Zuid Holland in the Netherlands. ... The Alblasserwaard is a country region in The Netherlands in the south of Zuid-Holland province, east of Rotterdam. ... The Scheldt delta, including Zuid-Beveland (2) Zuid-Beveland is a part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Westerschelde and south of the Oosterschelde. ... Noord-Beveland is a municipality in the southwestern Netherlands and a former island, now part of the Walcheren-Zuid-Beveland-Noord-Beveland peninsula. ... Satellite image of the Rhine-Meuse delta, showing the island of IJsselmonde (9) IJsselmonde is an island between the Nieuwe Maas, Noord and Oude Maas rivers in the province of Zuid Holland in the Netherlands. ... The raptor subfamily Perninae includes a number of medium-sized broad-winged species. ... Satellite image of the Rhine-Meuse delta showing the island of Rozenburg (10). ... Satellite image of the Scheldt estuary Walcheren is a former island in the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. ... Land van Altena (3) The Land van Heusden en Altena is an island in the estuary of the rivers Rhine and Meuse. ... Moerdijk is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. ... Nieuw-Vossemeer is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. ... Satellite image of the Scheldt delta Zeeuws-Vlaanderen is the part of the Netherlands on the left shore of the Scheldt river (here called Westerschelde), nr. ... Emergency evacuation is the movement of persons from a dangerous place due to the threat or occurrence of a disastrous event. ... Farmland can have several meanings: See: Farm for a general discussion of farming Farmland, Indiana, a town in the United States Farmland (cooperative), an agricultural cooperative This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The guilder (Dutch gulden), represented by the symbol ƒ, was the name of the currency used in the Netherlands from the 15th century until 1999, when it was replaced by the euro (coins and notes were not introduced until 2002). ...

A near catastrophe prevented

The Schielandse Hoge Zeedijk dyke along the river Hollandse IJssel was all that protected three million people in the provinces of South and Noord Holland from flooding. A section of this dyke, known as the Groenendijk, was not reinforced with stone revetments. The waterlevel was just below the crest and the seaside slope was weak. Volunteers worked to reinforce this stretch. Neverthelesss, the Groenendijk collapsed under the pressure around 5:30 am on 1 February. The seawater moved into the deep polder. In desperation, the mayor of Nieuwerkerk commandeered the river ship de Twee Gebroeders (The Two Brothers) and ordered the owner to plug the hole in the dike by navigating the ship into it. Fearing that the ship might break through and dive into the polder, captain Arie Evegroen took a row boat with him. The mayor's plan turned out to be successful, as the ship lodged itself firmly into the dike, saving many lives. Categories: Netherlands geography stubs | Rivers of the Netherlands | Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta ... South Holland (Dutch Zuid-Holland) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the west of the country on the North Sea coast. ... North Holland: (Dutch: Noord-Holland) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the northwest part of the country. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel (population: 22,344 in 2004) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. ... Rowing in the Amstel River by a student rowing club. ...

Reaction

Several neighbouring countries sent soldiers to assist in the search and rescue. The U.S. Army sent helicopters from Germany to rescue people from the rooftops. Queen Juliana and Princess Beatrix visited the calamity area only a few days after. A large aid program came on apace, supported by the radio. A national donation program was started and there was a large amount of international aid. Politically, the disaster prompted discussions concerning the protection and strengthening of the dykes, eventually leading to the Delta Works, an elaborate project involving the closing off of most estuary-mouths. Queen Juliana Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, (April 30, 1909 - March 20, 2004) of the House of Orange-Nassau was Queen of the Netherlands from her mothers abdication in 1948 to her own abdication in 1980 and Queen Mother (with the title of Princess) from... Her Majesty, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of Orange-Nassau (born January 31, 1938) is the Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne in 1980. ... The Delta Works are a number of constructions that were built between 1950 and 1997 in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land from the sea. ... Rio de la Plata estuary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Estuaries An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea[1]. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of...

North Sea flood in the United Kingdom

The North Sea flood of 1953 was one of the most devastating natural disasters ever recorded in the UK. Over 1,600 km of coastline was damaged, and sea walls were breached, inundating 1,000 km². Flooding forced 30,000 people to be evacuated from their homes, and 24,000 properties were seriously damaged. A seawall is a form of hard coastal defense that are constructed on the inland part of a coast to reduce the effects of strong waves, typically to defend the coast around a town or harbour from erosion. ...

In individual incidents, 38 died at Felixstowe in Suffolk when wooden prefabricated homes in the West End area of the town were flooded. In Essex, Canvey Island was inundated with the loss of 58 lives and another 37 died when the seafront village of Jaywick near Clacton was flooded. For the Aircraft manufacturer, see Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe Felixstowe is a North Sea seaport in Suffolk, England. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Essex is a county in the East of England. ... Canvey Island (area 18. ... Jaywick is a small seaside town near Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex on the North Sea coast of England. ... Town - Clacton-on-Sea Location - Essex, England Founded - 1871 Population (1991) - 45,065 Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring Peninsula, in Essex, England. ...

The total death toll on land in the UK is estimated at 307. The total death toll at sea for the UK, including the Princess Victoria, is estimated at 224.

North Sea Flood in Flanders (Belgium)

The coastal defence of Flanders was also severely damaged. Near Oostende, Knokke and Antwerp heavy damage was done to the seadefence with local breaches. 28 people died. Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; generally called the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; the constituent governing institution... Ostend (Dutch: Oostende, French: Ostende) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... Knokke is a town in Knokke-Heist, a part of Belgium. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ...

Response

In the Netherlands, an ambitious flood defence system was conceived and deployed, called the Delta Works (Dutch: Deltawerken), designed to protect the estuary of Rhine and Meuse. The works were completed in 1998, upon completion of the storm surge barrier, Maeslantkering, in the Nieuwe waterweg, near Rotterdam. The Delta Works are a number of constructions that were built between 1950 and 1997 in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land from the sea. ... The Rhine (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Romansh: ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820 miles), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. ... The Meuse (Maas) at Maastricht Meuse near Grave The Meuse (Dutch & German Maas) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. ... Maeslant Barrier closed during testing. ... Satellite image of the northwest part of the Rhine-Meuse delta showing the Nieuwe Waterweg (t) The Nieuwe Waterweg (New Waterway) is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur (a branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta) west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook... Nickname: Motto: Sterker door strijd (Stronger through Struggle) Location of Rotterdam Coordinates: Country Netherlands Province South Holland Government  - Mayor Ivo Opstelten  - Aldermen Jeannette Baljeu Hamit Karakus Orhan Kaya Lucas Bolsius Jantine Kriens Dominic Schrijer Roelf de Boer Leonard Geluk Area [1]  - City 319 km²  (123. ...

In the UK, major investments were made in new sea defences, and the Thames Barrier programme was started to secure central London against a future storm surge. The Thames Barrier is a flood control structure on the River Thames at Woolwich Reach in London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

The future

The threat of another flood on the scale of 1953 remains potent, since the combination of events generating a massive storm surge could recur in normal climatic timescales. In addition, two risk factors could increase the likelihood, or the severity, of another incident. Firstly, the western part of the Netherlands and the south-eastern part of the UK are gradually settling lower as other parts lift higher due to isostatic rebound after the disappearance of the glacial sheet from the last ice age. Secondly, sea levels are rising as a result of climate change, which may also cause more frequent and more severe storms. Isostasy is a term used in Geology to refer to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the Earths lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates float at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density. ... A glaciation (a created composite term meaning Glacial Period, referring to the Period or Era of, as well as the process of High Glacial Activity), often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... Sea level measurements from 23 long tide gauge records in geologically stable environments show a rise of around 8 inches per century (2 mm/year). ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ...

Flood barriers, improved weather forecasting, modern communications and sophisticated emergency services may help to reduce the potential loss of life from a future flood. However, this must be balanced by the impact of higher population densities, intensive building in coastal areas and, for the UK, by the decay of coastal defences since the 1950s improvements.

Films

• BBC Timewatch made a documentary about The North Sea flood of 1953, called The Greatest Storm.

The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion (US$7. ... Timewatch is a long running television series produced by the BBC. It presents a broad range of historical investigations focusing forgotten events or forgotten aspects of major events. ...

References

• Kelman, Ilan. Assessment of UK deaths, 1953; study made for CURBE (Cambridge University Centre for Risk in the Built Environment)

See also

• List of disasters
• Floods in the Netherlands
• List of natural disasters in the United Kingdom
• List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
• North Sea flood of 1962

It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... 838 December 26: A large part of the northwest of the Netherlands was flooded by a storm. ... This is a list of natural disasters in the United Kingdom. ... List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll is a list of major disasters (excluding acts of war) which occurred in the United Kingdom or involved UK citizens, in a definable incident, where the loss of life exceeded 40. ... The North Sea flood of 1962 was a natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of Germany and in particluar the city of Hamburg in the night from February 16 to February 17, 1962. ...

External links

• Met Office history
• BBC - future flood risk
• The Flood of 1953 in the Netherlands Report on DeltaWorks.Org - Includes Animations, Images and Video.
• Image of the riverboat "The two brothers" at Groenendijk
• 1953 Floods
• The 1953 East Coast Floods