The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy
storm surge
A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...
that struck the
Netherlands
)
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, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, north-west
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, causing extensive flooding.
The storm and flooding occurred at the end of Saturday, 31 January 1953 and morning of the next day. A combination of a high
spring tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ca ...
and a severe
European windstorm
European windstorms are powerful extratropical cyclones which form as cyclonic windstorms associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure. They can occur throughout the year, but are most frequent between October and March, with peak intensit ...
over the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
caused a
storm tide
A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...
. The combination of wind, high tide, and low pressure caused the sea to flood land up to above mean sea level.
Flooding summary
In the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
20% of the land was below
mean sea level
There are several kinds of mean in mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...
(subsequently with the expansion of
Flevoland
Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
this proportion has increased); the next-highest 30% sat at less than above sea level. Such land relies heavily on sea defences and was worst affected, recording 1,836 deaths and widespread damage. Most of the casualties occurred in the southern province of
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
.
In England, 307 people were killed in the
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
,
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
.
Twenty-eight people were killed in the north of
West Flanders
)
, settlement_type = Province of Belgium
, image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg
, flag_size =
, image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg
, shield_size =
, image_map ...
, Belgium.
Nineteen were killed in eastern Scotland.
At-sea fatalities
More than 230 deaths occurred on seacraft along
Northern Europe
The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...
an coasts as well as on ships in deeper waters of the North Sea. The ferry
MV ''Princess Victoria'' sank in the
North Channel North Channel may refer to:
*North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)
The North Channel (known in Irish and Scottish Gaelic as , in Scots as the ) is the strait between north-eastern Northern Ireland and south-western Scotland. It begins no ...
east of
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
with 133 fatalities, and many
fishing trawlers
A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...
sank. Nine small vessels foundered in the seas around the British Isles with the loss of all hands; these included the Swedish steamer ''Aspo'' (22 crew lost), the British steamer ''Yewvalley'' (12 crew lost), the British trawlers ''Sheldon'' (14 crew lost), ''Michael Griffith'' (13 crew lost) and ''Guava'' (eleven crew lost), the Dutch motor vessels ''Salland'' (nine crew lost) and ''Westland'' (eight crew lost), the Dutch trawler ''Catharina Duyvis'' (16 crew lost), and the Belgian trawler ''Leopold Nera'' (five crew lost).
Realising that such infrequent events could reoccur, the Netherlands and the
UK carried out large studies on strengthening of coastal defences. The Netherlands developed the
Delta Works
The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works con ...
, an extensive system of dams and
storm surge barriers. The UK constructed storm surge barriers on the
Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
and on the
Hull where it meets the
Humber Estuary.
Netherlands
On the night of 31 January – 1 February 1953, many
dykes in the province of
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
, the southern parts of the province of
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
and the northwestern parts of the province of
North Brabant
North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...
proved unable to resist the combination of
spring tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ca ...
and a northwesterly storm. On both the islands and the mainland, large areas of the country were flooded. Many people still commemorate the dead on 1 February.
Warnings
The
Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Net ...
had warned about the risk of a flood.
At the time of the flood, none of the local radio stations broadcast at night, and many of the smaller
weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...
s operated only during the day. As a result, the warnings of the
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
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, nativename_r =
, logo =
, logo_width =
, logo_caption =
, seal =
, seal_width =
, seal_caption =
, picture = FS IMG 8907 KNMI.jpg
, picture_width = 250px
, picture_caption = KNMI headquarters in De Bilt
, for ...
(KNMI) did not penetrate the flood-threatened area in time. People were unable to prepare for the impending flood. The disaster struck on a Saturday night, and hence many government and emergency offices in the affected area were not staffed.
As telephone and
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
networks were disrupted by flood damage,
amateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators hav ...
s went into the affected areas with their equipment to form a voluntary emergency radio network. These radio amateurs provided radio communications for 10 days and nights, and were the only people able to maintain contact from affected areas with the outside world.
Resulting damage
The Zeeland dykes were breached in 67 locations. Large parts of South Holland, Zeeland and North Brabant were inundated. In
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
only one
polder
A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are:
# Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed
# Flood plains s ...
was flooded. The most extensive flooding occurred on the islands of
Schouwen-Duiveland
Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water).
The northside of the island has two fi ...
,
Tholen
Tholen () is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality.
The municipality consists of two peninsu ...
,
Sint Philipsland,
Goeree-Overflakkee
Goeree-Overflakkee () is the southernmost delta island of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of North Brabant by the Volkerak, and from Schou ...
, the
Hoeksche Waard
The Hoekse Waard (; pre-1947 spelling: Hoeksche Waard) is an island between the Oude Maas, Dordtsche Kil, Hollands Diep, Haringvliet and Spui rivers in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. The island, part of the namesake munic ...
,
Voorne-Putten
Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse Meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland. Voorne-Putten consists of the two former islands Voorne (the larger, western part) and Put ...
and
Alblasserwaard
The Alblasserwaard () is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part.
History
The first human inhabita ...
. Parts of the islands of
Zuid-Beveland
Zuid-Beveland (; "South Beveland") is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Western Scheldt and south of the Eastern Scheldt.
Topography
It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Bevelan ...
,
Noord-Beveland
Noord-Beveland (; "North Beveland") is a municipality and region in the southwestern Netherlands and a former island, now part of the Walcheren-Zuid-Beveland-Noord-Beveland peninsula.
Noord-Beveland is enclosed by the Oosterschelde estuary to the ...
,
IJsselmonde,
Pernis,
Rozenburg
Rozenburg () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 13,173 in 2004, and covers an area of 6.50 km² (of which 1.99 km² water). It was the ...
,
Walcheren
Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...
and
Land van Altena
The Land of Altena ( nl, Land van Altena) is a historical region and former fiefdom of the Lords of Altena, historically part of the County of Holland, but since 1815 located in the Dutch province of North Brabant.
The Land of Altena lies on a ...
were flooded, as well as parts of the areas around
Willemstad
Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William I of the Netherlands, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdo ...
,
Nieuw-Vossemeer
Nieuw-Vossemeer is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Steenbergen, about 10 km northeast of Bergen op Zoom.
History
The village was first mentioned between 1573 and 1576 as Nijeuwe Vosse ...
and parts of
Zeelandic Flanders
Zeelandic Flanders ( ; zea, Zeêuws-Vlaonderen; vls, Zêeuws-Vloandern)''Vlaanderen'' in isolation: . is the southernmost region of the province of Zeeland in the south-western Netherlands. It lies south of the Western Scheldt that separates t ...
.
The highest death tolls were recorded on the islands of
Schouwen-Duiveland
Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water).
The northside of the island has two fi ...
and
Goeree-Overflakkee
Goeree-Overflakkee () is the southernmost delta island of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of North Brabant by the Volkerak, and from Schou ...
.
Afterward, the government formed the Delta Commission to study the causes and effects of the floods. They estimated that flooding killed 1,835 people and forced the
emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the urgent immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property.
Examples range from the small-scale evacuation of a building due t ...
of 70,000 more. Floods covered 9% of Dutch
farmland
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
, and sea water flooded of land. An estimated 30,000 animals drowned, and 47,300 buildings were damaged, of which 10,000 had to be taken down (or were swept away). The total damage is estimated at 1 billion
Dutch guilders
The guilder ( nl, gulden, ) or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from the 15th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro.
The Dutch name ''gulden'' was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning "golden", and reflects the fact that, wh ...
.
Near flooding of other parts
The
Schielands Hoge Zeedijk Schielands Hoge Zeedijk, formerly called ''Hoogendijk'' ("high dike") is a Dutch dike in the province of South Holland that stretches from the Schie at Schiedam to the Gouwe (rivier), Gouwe near Gouda, South Holland, Gouda. Constructed in the 13th c ...
(Schielands High Seadyke) along the river
Hollandse IJssel
The Hollandse (or Hollandsche) IJssel (; "Holland IJssel", as opposed to the 'regular' or Gelderland IJssel) is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein, Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel t ...
was all that protected three million people in the provinces of North and
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
from flooding. A section of this dyke, known as the Groenendijk, was not reinforced with stone
revetment
A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water
...
s. The water level was just below the crest and the seaward slope was weak.
Volunteers worked to reinforce this stretch. However, the Groenendijk began to collapse under the pressure around 5:30 am on 1 February. Seawater flooded into the deep polder. In desperation, the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Nieuwerkerk
Nieuwerkerk is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 23 km south of Hellevoetsluis.
Nieuwerkerk was a separate municipality until 1961, when the new municipality of ...
commandeered the river ship ''de Twee Gebroeders'' (''The Two Brothers'') and ordered the owner to plug the hole in the dyke by navigating the ship into it. Fearing that the ship might break through into the
polder
A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are:
# Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed
# Flood plains s ...
, Captain Arie Evegroen took a
row boat
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
with him. The mayor's plan was successful, as the ship was lodged firmly into the dyke, reinforcing it against failure and saving many lives.
The
Afsluitdijk
The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
across the entrance of the
Zuiderzee
The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...
was said to have paid for its construction cost in that one night, by preventing destructive flooding around the three great meers that used to be the Zuiderzee.
Reaction
Several neighbouring countries sent soldiers to assist in searching for bodies and rescuing people. The
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
sent helicopters from Germany to rescue people from rooftops.
Queen Juliana
Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980.
Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. S ...
and
Princess Beatrix
Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.
Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...
visited the flooded area only a few days after. A large aid program, the National Relief Fund, was launched, and soldiers raised funds by selling pea-soup door to door. Internationally, 100,000 commemorative postcards, featuring an illustration by
Eppo Doeve
Joseph Ferdinand Doeve (2 July 1907 – 11 June 1981), better known as Eppo Doeve, was a popular Dutch painter and cartoonist of Indo descent. He was born in Bandung, Indonesia and moved to the Netherlands in 1927. He was invested as a Knight ...
, were sold.
A national donation program was started and there was a large amount of international aid. The
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
was overwhelmed by contributions, and diverted some of the funds to assist residents of Third World countries.
It was found that the flooding could have been higher; the Rijkswaterstaat's plan concerning the protection and strengthening of the dikes was accepted. As a result, the
Delta Works
The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works con ...
were authorized, an elaborate project to enable emergency closing of the mouths of most
estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
, to prevent flood surges upriver.
Britain
The North Sea flood of 1953 was the worst flood in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
of the 20th century. Over of coastline was damaged,
[1953 east coast flood - 60 years on]
Met Office
The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
, April 2013 (retrieved January 2019) and
sea wall
A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
s were breached in 1,200 places,
[The Flood of 1953]
The Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
OpenLearn
OpenLearn is an educational website. It is the UK's Open University's contribution to the open educational resources (OER) project and the home of free, open learning from The Open University. The original project was part-funded by the Wi ...
, September 2004 inundating .
Flooding forced over 30,000 people from their homes,
and 24,000 properties were greatly damaged.
The damage is estimated as £50 million at 1953 prices, approximately £1.2 billion at 2013 prices.
Probably the most devastating storm to affect Scotland for 500 years, the surge crossed between
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
and
Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
. The storm generated coastal and inland hazards, including flooding, erosion, destruction of coastal defences, and widespread wind damage. Damage was throughout the country, with 19 fatalities reported. The fishing village of
Crovie
Crovie is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, dating from the 18th century, a time when the sea was the only mode of transport to and from Scotland's shores. The smallest and most remote of Buchan cliff-foot fishing villages, it comprise ...
(then in Banffshire, now
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
), built on a narrow strip of land along the
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
coast, was abandoned by many, as large structures were swept into the sea.
The surge raced down the east coast into the mid-to-southern North Sea, where it was amplified by shallower waters.
On the north side of the
Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
Canvey Island
Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
was inundated, with the loss of 58 lives. Some 41 people died at
Felixstowe
Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London.
His ...
in Suffolk when wooden
prefabricated homes in the West End of the town were flooded. Another 37 died when the seafront village of
Jaywick
Jaywick is a coastal village in the Tendring district of Essex, England, west of Clacton-on-Sea. It lies on the North Sea coast of England, from London and from Colchester. It was constructed in the 1930s as a holiday resort for Londoners, ...
near
Clacton was flooded.
In Lincolnshire, flooding occurred from
Mablethorpe
Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, part of the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): The population including nearby Sutton-on-Sea was 12, ...
to
Skegness
Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, i ...
, reaching as far as inland. Police Officers Charles Lewis and Leonard Deptford received
George Medal
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...
s for their part in rescue work. Lewis leapt from a police station upper window to save an elderly couple being swept away in floodwater, carrying them to a house across the road to safety, then continuing rescue work for hours until he found a working telephone to call for help. Deptford was off-duty at his son's party when the wall of water hit. He realised the elderly were vulnerable as the Roman bank was breached and he dragged and carried many to safety. At one house he found a bedridden elderly couple with their middle-aged daughter; in the waist-high floodwater, he lashed together oil cans to make a raft, to which he tied the couple and pulled them to safety. He carried on into day, his last rescue being a dog.
Reis Leming, a US airman, and USAF Staff Sergeant
Freeman A Kilpatrick were also awarded the George Medal for rescuing respectively 27 and 18 people at South Beach,
Hunstanton.
At
Salthouse
Salthouse is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the salt marshes of North Norfolk. It is north of Holt, west of Sheringham and north of Norwich. The village is on the A149 coast road between ...
the Victorian
Randall's Folly
Randall's Folly was a building on the coast at Salthouse, Norfolk, England. No trace of it remains, largely because of coastal erosion.
Although called a folly, the building was habitable. It was built some time around 1860 by Onesiphorus Ra ...
was badly damaged, resulting in its subsequent demolition.
In south-west
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, water overspilled the
Royal Docks
Royal Docks is an area and a ward in the London Borough of Newham in the London Docklands in East London, England.
The area is named after three docks – the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are mo ...
into
Silvertown
Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hundred of Becontr ...
, where it drained into the sewers but flooded back in
Canning Town and Tidal Basin. William Hayward, a night watchman at William Ritchie & Son, died of exposure to gas from a damaged pipe – the only fatality in London. Almost 200 people were homeless and took refuge at Canning Town Public Hall. The village of
Creekmouth
Creekmouth is an area of Barking in east London, England. It is best known for its large industrial estate. The industrial area around River Road and Thames Road is one of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham's largest employment areas. Cr ...
on
Barking Creek
Barking Creek joins the River Roding to the River Thames. It is fully tidal up to the Barking Barrage (a weir), which impounds a minimum water level through Barking.
In the 1850s, the creek was home to England's largest fishing fleet and a Vic ...
, the mouth of the
Roding, was wholly flooded by the sea surge and later demolished. Residents were relocated elsewhere in
Barking
Barking may refer to:
Places
* Barking, London, a town in East London, England
** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking
** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...
.
The total death toll on land in Britain is estimated at 307. The total death toll at sea for the UK, including the , is estimated at 224.
Belgium
The coastal defence of
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
was severely damaged. Near
Ostend
Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
,
Knokke
Knokke () is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009).
...
and
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, , heavy damage was done to the sea defence with local breaches. Twenty-eight people died, including musician
Robert Dubois
Bloodsport is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. All of these versions exist in DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe.
The Robert DuBois version of Bloodsport made his live- ...
.
Responses
After the 1953 flood, governments realised that similar infrequent but devastating events were possible in the future. In the Netherlands the government conceived and constructed an ambitious flood defence system beginning in the 1960s. Called the
Delta Works
The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works con ...
( nl, Deltawerken), it is designed to protect the estuaries of the rivers
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
,
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
and
Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
. The system was completed in 1998, with completion of the storm surge barrier
Maeslantkering
The Maeslantkering ("Maeslant barrier" in Dutch) is a storm surge barrier on the Nieuwe Waterweg, in South Holland, Netherlands. It was constructed from 1991 to 1997. As part of the Delta Works the barrier responds to water level predictions c ...
in the
Nieuwe Waterweg
The Nieuwe Waterweg ("New Waterway") is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur (a branch of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta) west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland: the Maasmond, where the Nieuwe Waterweg con ...
, near
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
.
In the UK, the
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
to the
Home Office, Sir
Frank Newsam
Sir Frank Aubrey Newsam, (13 November 1893 – 25 April 1964) was a British civil servant notable for his service as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office from 1948 to 1957, although he had been a central figure for many years pr ...
, coordinated the immediate efforts to defend homes, save lives and recover after the floods. After the flooding, the government made major investments in new sea defences. The
Thames Barrier
The Thames Barrier is a retractable Flood barrier, barrier system built to protect the floodplain of most of Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. When n ...
programme was started to secure Central London against a future storm surge; the Barrier was officially opened on 8 May 1984. A range of flood defence measures were initiated around the UK coast.
Commemoration
In 2013 a
service was held at
Chelmsford Cathedral to mark the 60th anniversary of the Great Flood, attended by
Anne, Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...
. Acts of remembrance were also held in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
A
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
marking the level of the flood water was installed by the Leigh Society on the wall of the Heritage Centre in
Leigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011, it had a population of 22,509.
Geography
Leigh-on-Sea is on the northern ...
to commemorate the flooding there.
There is also a blue plaque marking the height of the flood water at
Sutton-on-Sea
Sutton-on-Sea (originally Sutton in the Marsh or Sutton le Marsh) is a village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, beside a long sandy beach along the North Sea. The village is part of the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sut ...
in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
.
In 2011 58 years after the flood, a service remembrance was held outside the library on Canvey Island in Essex to unveil a plaque commemorating the 58 people who lost their lives on the island.
Books, films and music
* The composition ''Requiem Aeternam 1953'' by
Douwe Eisenga
Douwe Eisenga (born 1961, in Apeldoorn) is a Dutch composer. His most known work is ''Requiem Aeternam 1953'', composed on an occasion of the 50th North Sea flood of 1953 anniversary.
Eisenga is a self-taught musician and has begun composing musi ...
was written as a commemoration of the flood.
* The composition ''
Noye's Fludde
''Noye's Fludde'' is a one-act opera by the British composer Benjamin Britten, intended primarily for amateur performers, particularly children. First performed on 18 June 1958 at that year's Aldeburgh Festival, it is based on the 15th-century ...
'' of 1958 by
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
evokes the memory of the North Sea flood.
* The Dutch public broadcasting foundation has made numerous documentaries about the North Sea Flood. Two have been adapted as English versions: ''The Greatest Storm'' and ''1953, the Year of the Beast''.
*
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' made a documentary about the North Sea flood of 1953, called ''The Greatest Storm.''
* An episode of the
'' featured the flood.
* The 1953 floods were mentioned in detail in the drama film
, published in 1953, depicted the flood. It was adapted as a film by the same name in 1972.
* The short story "The Netherlands Lives with Water", by
, contains a passage describing the event.
* The 1976 book ''Oosterschelde, windkracht 10'', by
. The first part describes the storm, while the second part describes the later conflicts about constructing the
.
'' (1978), set in Suffolk in 1959, makes many references back to the 1953 flooding.
* The 2012 non-fiction book, ''
.
*'The Great Tide' by Hilda Grieve (published 1959) gives a detailed description of every aspect of the flood in Essex.
study made for CURBE (Cambridge University Centre for Risk in the Built Environment)
* Lamb, H.H. and Frydendahl, Knud (1991). ''Historic Storms of the North Sea, British Isles and Northwest Europe''.
.
* Instituut voor Sociaal Onderzoek van het Nederlandse Volk,
. Committee on Disaster Studies (1955)
. Report on