Zeeland, 1953 - Flood disaster

The Dutch struggle against the waters.

In February 1953 the Netherlands faced disaster when the dikes protecting the southwest of the country were breached by the joint onslaught of a hurricane-force northwesterly wind and exceptionally high spring tides. The flood came in the night without warning, a fateful combination of freak high tides and gale-force winds that killed 1,835 people, including Jan Ardon, the father of my first wife Gerda Ardon. Almost 200,000 hectares of land was swamped, 3,000 homes and 300 farms destroyed, and 47,000 heads of cattle drowned. Flooding caused by storm surges were nothing new to the Netherlands, but this time the nation was stunned by the extent of a disaster unparalleled for centuries. It was The Netherlands' worst disaster for 300 years.

Three members of the Kloosterman family died in the flood disaster and the father of my first wife.
Kloosterman, Cornelis - born, Wolphaartsdijk - 1900 feb. 24
Kloosterman, Marina Wilhelmina - born, Wolphaartsdijk - 1941 okt. 2
Kloosterman-de Leeuw, Geertruida - born, Wolphaartsdijk - 1900 sep. 11
Ardon, Dingeman - born, Goudswaard, 1921 nov. 28.

Emergency aid flowed in from all over the world to help soften the blow to a country only just recovering from war. Ironically enough, the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management had published a policy document only a few days previously detailing plans to prevent precisely this sort of disaster. The document proposed that all the tidal inlets and estuaries in the provinces of Zeeland and South Holland should be dammed. In the light of the disaster, urgent action was taken to implement this plan, known as the 'Delta Project'.

History
The earliest inhabitants of the Netherlands protected themselves against flooding by constructing mounds ('terps') on which to build their farmsteads and houses. Later occupants of these mounds started to protect larger areas of land by building dikes between them.

Around 1300, large parts of the present-day Netherlands still lay under water. In the centuries that followed, more and more land was wrested from the sea by constructing dikes and using windmills to pump away the water. It was the advent of the windmill in around 1300 and its use in land drainage that formed the landscape of the Netherlands as we know it today. By 1800 there were some 9000 windmills in the Netherlands. The 16th and 17th centuries saw a boom in wind-powered lake reclamation schemes financed by wealthy Amsterdam merchant-entrepreneurs. These created large polder areas unlike anything else in the world. The hydraulic expert Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater (1575-1650) is famous in connection with the reclamation and drainage of North Holland. He even wrote a book (the Haarlemmermeerboeck) explaining how the vast 7,000-hectare Haarlemmermeer between Amsterdam and Leiden could be reclaimed, a feat not in fact accomplished until two centuries later (1848-1852), after the arrival of the steam-driven pumping station.

Throughout history, the populations of the Dutch coastal provinces have been regularly afflicted by devastating storm surges. The most famous are the St. Elisabeth Flood of 1421 and the All Saints' Day flood of 1570, which cost the lives of many thousands of people and caused enormous damage. The area around the Zuyder Zee suffered badly in 1916. The danger of flooding could come either from the Zuyder Zee or from the Rhine/Maas delta in the southwest. As early as 1667, Hendric Stevin, son of the more famous Simon Stevin, produced a plan to prevent flooding around the Zuyder Zee by damming the channels between the islands in the Wadden Sea. At that time the technology simply did not exist to do this but the idea persisted and in 1889 a thorough study was made of its technical feasibility. One of those responsible was Cornelis Lely (1854-1929), later Minister of Water Management. It was he who - prompted by the disastrous floods of 1916 - was finally to commission the necessary works to seal off the Zuyder Zee from the North Sea by constructing a Barrier Dam from the tip of North Holland to the Frisian mainland. Work began on the 32-km-long dam in 1927 and the last opening in it was sealed on 28 May 1932. Later, large parts of the Zuyder Zee - rechristened the IJsselmeer - were drained to create two huge new polders: the Noordoostpolder and Flevoland.

The Delta Project
The Delta Project was one of the greatest post-war feats of hydraulic engineering in the Netherlands. Immediately after the devastating storm surge of 1953, a Delta Commission was appointed to advise the government on the necessary works to protect the south-western part of the country. The first step was to construct a moveable storm surge barrier in the Hollandse IJssel, east of Rotterdam. This went into operation in 1958. The next move was the closure of the Veerse Gat and the Zandkreek in 1961. This necessitated the building of great sluices to regulate the discharge of water from the major rivers. Huge dams with sluice gates were likewise completed in 1971 to close off the Haringvliet and in 1972 to protect the Brouwershavensche Gat. The Philips and Oester Dams followed in 1974 and 1987 respectively. Plans for the closure of the last open estuary, the Eastern Scheldt, were also on the table, but evoked a clamour of protest from mussel and oyster farmers and environmentalists. They were fiercely opposed to closure on the grounds that it would destroy a unique tidal area and that the Eastern Scheldt was the nursery for many species of North Sea fish. Eventually a compromise was reached. A partially open storm surge barrier would be built, with huge gates that could be closed in the event of high water levels. This would preserve the ecological value of the Eastern Scheldt as a tidal area while at the same time guaranteeing the safety of Zeeland. The resulting storm surge barrier in the Eastern Scheldt is one of the biggest in the world. The components for the moveable gates, each the size of a twelve-storey block of flats, were built in special docks and floated into place before being sunk. The dam was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on 4 October 1986 and the final piece of the Delta Works jigsaw was slotted into place in 1997, when a moveable storm surge barrier was completed in the New Waterway. This consists of two vast gates which are normally kept open but can be closed when a storm is imminent.

This drawing on the left shows the areas that were flooded during the 1953 disaster, on the right the Sea-Defenses Plan ("Deltaplan") is depicted (barriers and bridges). White areas indicate the flooded islands and land, Black indicates salty water, connected to the sea, dark blue is stagnant salty water (no tide) and light blue indicates fresh water from the rivers.

In 1993 and 1995 there were two new flood emergencies in the Netherlands. There were no fatalities, but the economic damage was enormous. This time the flooding came not from the sea but from the rivers. In 1995, meltwater from the mountainous heartland of Europe and extremely heavy rainfall downstream combined to burst the banks of the Rhine and the Maas and more than 250,000 people had to be evacuated. This latest flood emergency led immediately to the drafting of a Delta Plan for the Major Rivers. This provides for the major rivers transecting the Netherlands to be given greater freedom to spill out across some parts of their traditional floodplains, while the height of the dikes controlling them is increased elsewhere.

After the Deltaworks, Battle against the sea
Village of Serooskerke After the construction of the Deltaworks, the inhabitants of the Delta area could catch their breath. A disaster such as the one in 1953 would not occur in the near future. The chance of such a disaster happening again was drastically reduced. During the five decades after the flood disaster, other chances and treats faces the nation. The Deltaworks were an important chapter in the history of the Dutch battle against the sea, but it was not the final word. To keep Zeeland, and the rest of the Netherlands save, more will have to be done than every now and then a new lick of paint on the dams.

A broad approach
Nederlands landschap Since the flood disaster of 1953, the Dutch have developed a new sense for water management. One realised that not only the sea is a threat, but that water in general can be very dangerous. Water also comes from rivers and skies. Due to climate changes, the amount of water will increase, especially in the winter. On the basis of data of the KNMI, the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute, it was calculated that the summer of 2004 was the wettest summer since 1951. On average, the precipitation was for the whole of the Netherlands 314 mm, whereas it is normally only 202 mm. So, the summer was extremely wet. Flooding occurred at many places, and rivers had to process large quantities of water. These, and other developments, have made the Dutch water management more than just the protection of the coast. Moreover, the image of the sea as an enemy has proved wrong, or rather incomplete. Safety for people living in coastal areas has still top priority, but factors as nature, recreation and habitation have also be taken into account.

The Oosterschelde as a starting point
The choice for an ‘open’ storm surge barrier in the Oosterschelde, instead of an ‘closed’ dam can be regarded as a turning point in the conception of water. Firstly, the Oosterschelde would be dammed. That was the best solution to provide safety for the people living in this are. However, different social powers campaigned against the damming of the Oosterschelde. They stressed that safety was an important issue, but that other factors had to be taken into account as well. The unique sweet water environment of the Oosterschelde was one of these factor. After a long discussion and balancing the pros and cons of each alternative, it was decided to build an open barrier. Water quality, the environment, nature, fishery, recreation, agriculture, shipping and industry were considered all. The kind of policy in which as many factors as possible are taken into account are called ‘integral water management’. The Oosterschelde project proved that it was possible to unite different stakes.

Consequences of the Deltaworks
Fishes Although a barrier was built in the Oosterschelde, the tidal movement was decreased with about a quarter. As you can imagine, the influence on nature of the other dams was even bigger. Except for the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde, all estuaries were closed. Where the salt seawater could first stream back and forth, the water behind the dams were brought to a halt. The tidal movement stopped and salt changed in sweet. Some parts that had always been flooded during high tide were uncovered now. Some pieces of tideland, on the other hand, was always covered by water. Channels, streams and coves became silted up and mud flats and shallows caved in. Salt-water fish died and birds moved away. Gradually, other species replaced them. These developments cannot be reversed. What humans can do, however, is to give nature room, within certain borders. In for instance the Haringvliet, the Hollandsch Diep and the Biesbosch, people try not to interfere with nature any more. However, the way the province of Zeeland looked, it will never look again. This is shocking, but not insuperable. Other plants and animals, which are not less unique, have replaced the ones that disappeared.

Example projects
Salt marshes Since 1985, several nature development projects have been carried out. On the former artificial island Neeltje Jans, beaches, dunes and bird islands arose or have been created. The concrete and steal of the Deltaworks has become a home for all kinds of shells and seaweeds. Another good example project is the Haringvliet. When this estuary was closed in 1970, the water became gradually sweet. Fish, such as eel, stickleback and smelt died, since suddenly, they could not make their way to the North Sea any more. The sweet water fish that replaced these sweet water fish, were discharged into the sea when the Haringvliet outlet sluices were used. After extensive reseach and too much debate, it was decided to open the Haringvliet sluices during 95 percent of the time. The sweet water fish will disappear again, but the original inhabitants will return for good. Until now, the sluices have only been set ajar, since many things had to be dealt with first. Only after the drink water supply has been secured and agreements have been made with adjacent municipalities, local farmers, fishermen, the Haringvliet can become a barrier instead of a dam.

The future?
Storm Due to climate changes, the sea level will rise with 10 to 90 centimetres the next century. Moreover, significant higher quantities of precipitation are to be expected. At the same time, the west of the Netherlands is falling because of long-term geological processes. The ground is even falling more, since the Dutch are a master at draining water (and soil!) into the sea. So, the threats are two-fold: on the one side, sea levels are rising, and on the other side, the ground is falling. To protect the Netherlands, the Oosterschelde and Maeslant barriers will have to be closed more often in the future. In order to keep the Oosterschelde open, the dikes around the estuary will have to be reinforced as well. However, bigger and broader dikes need more space – space that is now being used for nature, habitation or recreation. The Deltaworks have surely solved a safety problem, but they have created another problem simultaneously. Water management goes beyond the construction of more and more dams and dikes.

Source:
Dutch Ministery of Internal Affairs
Deltawerken Online