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 ...
that struck 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 ...
, 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 ...
,
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 ...
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 ...
. 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 tabl ...
and a severe
European windstorm 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 ...
caused a
storm tide. 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, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set.
For a data set, the '' ...
(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.
In England, 307 people were killed in the
counties of
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, 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-we ...
,
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 Nor ...
,
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 ...
and
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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 Riv ...
.
Twenty-eight people were killed in the north of
West Flanders
West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West Vloandern; french: (Province de) Flandre-Occidentale ; german: Westflandern ) is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the No ...
, Belgium.
Nineteen were killed in eastern Scotland.
At-sea fatalities
More than 230 deaths occurred on seacraft along
Northern European coasts as well as on ships in deeper waters of the North Sea. The ferry
MV ''Princess Victoria'' sank in the
North Channel 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 Kingdom ...
with 133 fatalities, and many
fishing trawlers 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, 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
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
where it meets the
Humber Estuary
The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...
.
Netherlands
On the night of 31 January – 1 February 1953, many
dykes in the province of
Zeeland, the southern parts of the province of
South Holland 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 t ...
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 tabl ...
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 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 (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 ...
networks were disrupted by flood damage,
amateur radio operators 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 ...
was flooded. The most extensive flooding occurred on the islands of
Schouwen-Duiveland,
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, 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 muni ...
,
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 Pu ...
and
Alblasserwaard. Parts of the islands of
Zuid-Beveland,
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 ...
,
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 s ...
,
Walcheren and
Land van Altena were flooded, as well as parts of the areas around
Willemstad
Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the capital of the Netherlands Antilles pr ...
,
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 Vossem ...
and parts of
Zeelandic Flanders.
The highest death tolls were recorded on the islands of
Schouwen-Duiveland and
Goeree-Overflakkee.
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 bo ...
, 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.
Near flooding of other parts
The
Schielands Hoge Zeedijk (Schielands High Seadyke) along the river
Hollandse IJssel was all that protected three million people in the provinces of North and
South Holland from flooding. A section of this dyke, known as the Groenendijk, was not reinforced with stone
revetments. 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 ...
of
Nieuwerkerk 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 ...
, Captain Arie Evegroen took a
row boat 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 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 ov ...
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 sent helicopters from Germany to rescue people from rooftops.
Queen Juliana and
Princess Beatrix 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, 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 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 environme ...
, 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 ...
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 ...
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 Penelop ...
, 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 university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
OpenLearn, 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 n ...
. 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 comprises ...
(then in Banffshire, now
Aberdeenshire), 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 Sc ...
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 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 for National Statistics ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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 Riv ...
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.
H ...
in Suffolk when wooden
prefabricated homes in the West End of the town were flooded. Another 37 died when the seafront village of
Jaywick near
Clacton was flooded.
In Lincolnshire, flooding occurred from
Mablethorpe to
Skegness, 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 cir ...
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
Reis Lee Leming GM (6 November 1930 – 5 November 2012) was an American airman who was awarded the British George Medal for his efforts in rescuing people during the North Sea flood of 1953.
The rescue
On the night of 31 January 1953 the sea ...
, 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 was badly damaged, resulting in its subsequent demolition.
In south-west
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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 Riv ...
, 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 Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, hundred of Becontree, and the historic county ...
, 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 on
Barking Creek, the mouth of the
Roding, was wholly flooded by the sea surge and later demolished. Residents were relocated elsewhere in
Barking.
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 cultu ...
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 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.
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 ( 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=
, source ...
,
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 ...
and
Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
. 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 ...
in the
Nieuwe Waterweg, near
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
.
In the UK, the
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...
to the
Home Office, Sir
Frank Newsam, 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 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
Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop of ...
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 marking the level of the flood water was installed by the Leigh Society on the wall of the Heritage Centre in
Leigh-on-Sea to commemorate the flooding there.
There is also a blue plaque marking the height of the flood water at
Sutton-on-Sea in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, 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-we ...
.
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 music ...
was written as a commemoration of the flood.
* The composition ''
Noye's Fludde'' 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 ''
Timewatch'' made a documentary about the North Sea flood of 1953, called ''The Greatest Storm.''
* An episode of the
ITV series ''
Savage Planet'' featured the flood.
* The 1953 floods were mentioned in detail in the drama film
''Flood'' (2007).
* In 2009 a Dutch
action drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
titled ''
De Storm'' (''The Storm'') was released.
* The book ''The Little Ark'' by
Jan de Hartog, 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
Jim Shepard
Jim Shepard (born 1956) is an American novelist and short story writer, who teaches creative writing and film at Williams College.
Biography
Shepard was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He received a B.A. at Trinity College in 1978 and an MF ...
, contains a passage describing the event.
* The 1976 book ''Oosterschelde, windkracht 10'', by
Jan Terlouw is the story of the flood in
Zeeland,
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 ...
. The first part describes the storm, while the second part describes the later conflicts about constructing the
Delta Works.
[ :nl:Oosterschelde; Windkracht 10]
* Penelope Fitzgerald, ''
The Bookshop
''The Bookshop'' is a 1978 novel by the British author Penelope Fitzgerald. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The novel was made into a film by Isabel Coixet in 2017.
Plot
The novel, set mainly in 1959, follows Florence Green, a mi ...
'' (1978), set in Suffolk in 1959, makes many references back to the 1953 flooding.
* The 2012 non-fiction book, ''
The Sugar Girls'', by
Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi, describes the effects of the flood in
East London, and on workers at
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle PLC is a British-headquartered, global supplier of food and beverage ingredients to industrial markets. It was originally a sugar refining business, but from the 1970s it began to diversify, eventually divesting its sugar business i ...
's
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
factories.
* The flood and its effect upon the coastal town of
Lowestoft is the subject matter of a painting by British artist
Mark Burrell
Mark Burrell (b. 1957) is a British Artist, born and resident in Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK. He spent a year during his childhood in Libya. Returning to Lowestoft he studied art at Lowestoft College but considers himself self-taught.
Burrell has wo ...
.
*'The Great Tide' by Hilda Grieve (published 1959) gives a detailed description of every aspect of the flood in Essex.
See also
*
Flood control in the Netherlands
Flood control is an important issue for the Netherlands, as due to its low elevation, approximately two thirds of its area is vulnerable to flooding, while the country is densely populated. Natural sand dunes and constructed dikes, dams, and f ...
*
Floods in the Netherlands
*
Inundation of Walcheren
*
Lists of disasters
*
List of floods in Europe
This is a list of notable recorded floods that have occurred in Europe.
See also
* Drought
* Floods Directive
* List of floods
* 2021 European floods
* List of flash floods
* Storm tides of the North Sea
References
{{European floo ...
*
List of natural disasters in the British Isles
*
List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll
The following list of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland is a list of major disasters (excluding acts of war) which relate to the United Kingdom or Ireland, or to the states that preceded them, or that involved their citizens, in a definable ...
*
North Sea flood of 1962
*
North Sea flood of 2007
Cyclone Tilo (also known as Cyclone Andrea in Norway) was a European windstorm which affected northern and western Europe in early November 2007. Combining with the remnants of Hurricane Noel, Tilo's storm surge led to the North Sea flood of 2007, ...
*
North Sea flood of 2013
*
Radio Amateurs Emergency Network
The Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network, also known as RAYNET, is a British national voluntary communications service provided by amateur radio operators. It was formed in 1953 and exists to supplement national communication channels in the event ...
*
Storm tides of the North Sea
References
* Kelman, Ilan
Assessment of UK deaths, 1953 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''.
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambridge University Pr ...
.
* Instituut voor Sociaal Onderzoek van het Nederlandse Volk,
U.S. National Research Council
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...
. Committee on Disaster Studies (1955)
''Studies in Holland flood disaster 1953'' Four volumes.
External links
RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre 1953 Floods
BBC — future flood riskThe Flood of 1953 in the Netherlands. Report on
DeltaWorks.org; includes animations, images and video
1953 FloodsSuffolk under water— BBC Suffolk
LIFE Magazine article (Feb. 16, 1953)
Video links
Dutch newsreel, on Pathe site
Pathe newsreel, images of Netherlands
Pathe newsreel, images of NetherlandsPathe newsreel, images of CanveyPathe newsreel, evacuation in Lincolnshire
{{Weather events in the United Kingdom
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Amateur radio history
Disasters in Norfolk
Disasters in Suffolk
European windstorms
Floods in Belgium
Floods in England
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Floods in the Netherlands
Disasters in Essex
History of Lincolnshire
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History of the North Sea
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Storm tides of the North Sea
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