what caused the north sea flood in 1953
North Sea flood of 1953


The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm that occurred on the night of Saturday, 31 January 1953 and morning of Sunday, 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland. A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm over the North Sea caused a storm tide; the combination of wind, high tide, and low pressure led to a water level of more than above mean sea level in some locations. The flood and waves overwhelmed sea
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St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)


of the Biesbosch (a big area of nature in the Netherlands) area has been flooded since. The cause of the flood was a tidal surge, a combination of spring tide, northerly winds and low pressure like in the great flood of 1953 (see North Sea flood of 1953). Water from the storm in the North Sea surged up the rivers causing the dikes to overflow and break through. The flood reached a large sea arm between south-Holland and Zeeland or Zealand, destroying the Grote Hollandse Waard. At
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1978 North Sea storm surge


1978 North Sea storm surge was a storm surge which occurred over 11–12 January causing extensive coastal flooding and considerable damage on the east coast of England between the Humber and Kent. Higher water levels were reached than during the devastating North Sea flood of 1953 from North Shields to King's Lynn, but values were lower towards the Thames. Locally severe flooding occurred in Lincolnshire, The Wash, north Norfolk and Kent. Improvements in flood protection following the devastating flood of 1953 meant that the catastrophic losses seen during that storm were not repeated
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North Sea


flood of 1953 flooded several nations' coasts and cost more than 2,000 lives. 315 citizens of Hamburg died in the North Sea flood of 1962. Though rare, the North Sea has been the site of a number of historically documented tsunamis. The Storegga Slides were a series of underwater landslides, in which a piece of the Norwegian continental shelf slid into the Norwegian Sea. The immense landslips occurred between 8150 BCE and 6000 BCE, and caused a tsunami up to high that swept through the North Sea, having the greatest effect
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St Botolph's Church, Boston


of the heights and dates of flooding of the church by the River Witham. Flood defences were improved following the North Sea flood of 1953. The church was flooded in 1978 and again on 5 December 2013, when the North Sea flood of 2013 resulted in of water inside and outside the building. A folk tale tells that the strong winds blowing around the Stump are caused by the breath of the Devil. After an exhausting struggle with St Botolph, the Devil was breathing so heavily that the wind has not yet died down
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Lowestoft


an area of old sand dunes known locally as the Denes, as well as more beaches and Ness Point, the easternmost point of the UK. Lowestoft has been subject to periodic flooding, notably in January 1953, when a North Sea swell driven by low pressure and a high tide swept away many of the older sea defences and deluged most of the southern town. Heavy rain caused flash flooding in the town in September 2006. In December 2013, a storm surge caused severe flooding of Lowestoft and its suburbs. Lowestoft is
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Great Yarmouth


opened in May 1985, with the northern section opened in March 1986. The bypass was re-numbered as part of the A12, until it returned to being part of the A47 in February 2017. The town was badly affected by the North Sea flood of 1953. More recent flooding has also been a problem, with four floods in 2006, the worst being in September. Torrential rain caused drains to block and an Anglian Water pumping station to break down, which caused flash flooding in which 90 properties were flooded up
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St. Lucia's flood


St. Lucia's flood (Sint-Luciavloed) was a storm tide that affected the Netherlands and Northern Germany on 14 December 1287, the day after St. Lucia Day, killing approximately 50,000 to 80,000 people in one of the largest floods in recorded history. Meteorologically this disaster was similar to the North Sea flood of 1953, when an extreme low pressure system coinciding with a high tide caused a huge storm surge. The St. Lucia flood had a major influence on the subsequent history of the Netherlands. The name Zuiderzee "Southern Sea
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North Sea flood of 1953


-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 of 70,000 more. Floods covered 9% of Dutch farmland, and sea water flooded of land. An estimated 30,000 animals drowned, and 47,300 buildings were damaged, of which 10,000 were destroyed. The total damage is estimated at 1 billion Dutch guilders. The Schielands Hoge Zeedijk (Schielands High Seadyke) along the river Hollandse IJssel was all that protected three
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River Nene


empty this operation will always have to be done twice to pass through. In recent years the Environment Agency, who are the navigation authority for the river, have been installing electric operation of the guillotines and in some cases replacing them altogether with mitre gates. On 11 and 12 January the 1978 North Sea storm surge caused extensive coastal flooding. Higher water levels were reached than during the devastating North Sea flood of 1953. Flooding affected both banks of the river at Wisbech. A 70-year-old woman was reported drowned in her
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HMS Sirdar (P226)


missing HMS "Affray" in 1951. They all flew large white flags to distinguish them from the missing "Affray". "Sirdar" later sat on the bottom for six hours while the ASDIC boats familiarised themselves with the identification of a submarine sitting on the bottom. On the night of 31 January/1 February 1953, "Sirdar" was in dry dock at the naval dockyard at Sheerness, Kent when Sheerness was struck by the North Sea flood of 1953. Flood waters caused lock gates to fail, flooding the dry dock
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North Sea flood of 1953


defences and caused extensive flooding. The Netherlands, a country with 20% of its territory below mean sea level and 50% less than above sea level and which relies heavily on sea defences, was worst affected, recording 1,836 deaths and widespread property damage. Most of the casualties occurred in the southern province of Zeeland. In England, 307 people were killed in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. Nineteen were killed in Scotland. Twenty-eight people were killed in West Flanders, Belgium. In addition
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1978 North Sea storm surge


, King Street and the town's medieval quarter. The town centre was left underwater causing damage totalling millions of pounds. 1978 flood level recorded in St Margaret's church in the town were at 1190mm. The costs of damage in King's Lynn though were less than during 1953 flood. The storm surge breached the shingle ridge to the south of Heacham and the sea wall at Heacham North Beach, resulting in significant damage to property. Hundreds of caravans near to Snettisham and Hunstanton were overturned by the storm. With damage
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North Sea flood of 1953


The Red Cross was overwhelmed by contributions, and decided to divert 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, to prevent flood surges upriver. The North Sea flood of 1953 was one of the most devastating natural disasters ever recorded in the United Kingdom
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Canvey Island


Museum" and has First World War exhibits on the ground floor and Second World War exhibits on the first floor. On 1 February 1953, the infamous North Sea Flood hit the island during the night and caused the deaths of 58 people. Many of the victims were in the holiday bungalows of the eastern Newlands estate and perished as the water reached ceiling level. The small village area of the island is approximately two feet (60 cm) above sea level and consequently escaped the effects of the flood. This included the "
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Netherlands


in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the "Biesbosch" tidal floodplains in the south-centre. The huge North Sea flood of early February 1953 caused the collapse of several dikes in the south-west of the Netherlands; more than 1,800 people drowned in the flood. The Dutch government subsequently instituted a large-scale programme, the "Delta Works", to protect the country against future flooding, which was completed over a period of more than thirty years. The impact of disasters was,
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2013–14 United Kingdom winter floods


northern Norway led to a severe drought and forest fires there in early 2014. The period began on 5 December 2013 when a deep low pressure area moved from the Atlantic over Scotland and the North Sea inducing a storm surge in the Irish Sea and North Sea coasts of the United Kingdom. In the North Sea some of the highest level tides were recorded in the Humber and Thames estuaries, exceeding levels which occurred during the disastrous North Sea flood of 1953. Flooding occurred in Tyneside, Teesside, along the Yorkshire coast, around
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Global storm activity of 2007


nations on red alert as the English evacuate some coastal villages and close the Thames Barrier. The Dutch close the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier and the enormous Maeslant barrier in order to prevent massive flooding as the storm mimics the situation that caused the devastating North Sea flood of 1953. For the first time since 1976, the entire Dutch coastline is put on alert and is closely monitored by officials. The tidal surge turned out to be too weak to cause any significant damage to the strong Dutch coastal defenses. In England, only
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Horsey Island


Island has been regularly susceptible to flooding, including severe floods in 1691, 1896, 1949 and the North Sea flood of 1953. The 19th-century sea wall was destroyed by floods around 1897, and the surrounding land was abandoned. The Wade was repaired after the 1953 flood. The farm is still in active use, thus making it one of the most easterly inhabited islands in Britain, a claim sometimes attributed to the more built-up Mersea Island further west. It remains privately owned. The island features in Arthur
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Cley next the Sea


the village to sustain. Once the repairing stopped, it became easier for waves to get through; in 1953 a large storm, measured at above ordnance datum (see North Sea flood of 1953) hit the North Norfolk coast and the shingle ridge was mostly destroyed. A further storm surge in 1978 measured above ordnance datum and the protection measures confined flooding to the marshes and A149 coast road. The North Norfolk Shoreline Management Plan introduced by the Environment Agency has proposed a number of strategies in the light of continual erosion and predicted
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Yerseke


become homeless. Although the village was liberated by Canadian forces in 1944, Nazi V-1 rockets struck the village in March 1945. During the occupation, men from the village were taken to Germany as forced labourers for German industry. The North Sea flood of 1953 (De Ramp, or ‘The Disaster’ in Dutch) did not cause flooding within the town itself. However, many of the town’s fishing vessels assisted inundated communities. The locality is well known in the region and farther afield, especially in Belgium, for
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The Storm (2009 film)


The Storm (Dutch: "De Storm") is a 2009 Dutch disaster film by Ben Sombogaart. A terrible storm causes hundreds of dikes to break in Zeeland, resulting in the North Sea flood of 1953. Julia, a single mother living with her parents, is caught in the middle of the catastrophic flood. She is rescued from drowning and taken to safety by her neighbour Aldo, who is a member of the armed forces. However, her baby is left in a wooden box in the attic of Julia's
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Cyclone Xaver


the storm surge propagated with the tide along the east coast of Scotland and England from north to south, then continued anticlockwise around the southern North Sea coast to the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Surges of comparable magnitude to this event and 1953 are not infrequent in the North Sea, 15 are listed to have occurred between 1883 and 1979. The Environment Agency described the storm surge as the most serious in 60 years, with water heights exceeding those of the 1953 flood and 1978 North Sea storm surge at localised points in North
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St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)


The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 was a flooding of the Grote Hollandse Waard, an area in what is now the Netherlands. It takes its name from the feast day of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary which was formerly November 19. It ranks 20th in the list of worst floods in history. During the night of November 18 to November 19, 1421, a heavy storm near the North Sea coast caused the dikes to break in a number of places and the lower lying polder land was flooded. A number of villages were
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North Sea flood of 1953


. Over of coastline was damaged, and sea walls were breached in 1,200 places, inundating . Flooding forced over 30,000 people from their homes, and 24,000 properties were seriously 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 the Orkney and Shetland Isles. The storm generated coastal and inland hazards, including flooding, erosion, destruction of coastal defences, and widespread wind damage. Damage
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North Sea flood of 1953


Public Hall. The total death toll on land in the UK is estimated at 307. The total death toll at sea for the UK, including the , is estimated at 224. Total damages were estimated to be £50 million (£ million today). The coastal defence of Flanders was severely damaged. Near Ostend, Knokke and Antwerp, heavy damage was done to the sea defence with local breaches. Twenty-eight people died, including noted Belgian musician Robert Dubois. After the 1953 flood, governments realised that similar
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Rhoon


Rhoon is a village that borders the municipality of the city of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands. According to its history it was established in 1199 and was ruled by the "lords of Duiveland". In the 14th century the village was struck by many floods. In the last big flood, the North Sea flood of 1953, the Dutch government implemented the "deltawerken" (Delta Works). This is a large protection barrier of dikes and dams to keep the water of the North Sea out during high tides
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Zeeland


What used to be a muddy landscape, flooding at high tide and reappearing at low tide, became a series of small man-made hills that stayed dry at all times. The people of the province would later connect the hills by creating dikes, which led to a chain of dry land that later grew into bigger islands and gave the province its current shape. The shape of the islands has changed over time at the hands of both man and nature. The North Sea flood of 1953 inundated vast amounts of land that
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Coastal management


The walls stabilise and deepen the channel which benefits navigation, flood management, river erosion and water quality, but can cause coastal erosion by interrupting longshore drift. One solution is a sand bypassing system to pump sand under/around the training walls. Storm surge barriers, or floodgates, were introduced after the North Sea Flood of 1953 and prevent damage from storm surges or any other type of natural disaster that could harm the area they protect. They are habitually open and allow free passage, but close under threat of a storm
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Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory


study groups such as those of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thanks to the work of Doodson and other scientists in Liverpool, the tide can be predicted at any location around the UK with several centimetre accuracy. Superimposed upon the ‘astronomical tide’, which is caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun, is the ‘storm surge’ caused by strong winds and low air pressures. The major flood at Sea Palling and other parts of the north Norfolk coast in 1953 resulted from a large
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Beveren


back from the sea, until 1846, when the last parcel of land was dammed up. Beveren was heavily impacted by the North Sea flood of 1953, which breached the dykes, causing again heavy damage to hundreds of houses. In the 1960s and 1970s, the expansion of the port of Antwerp took place on Kallo's territory. The village of Doel was reduced from the 900 residents of only 10 years ago to some 250 currently because of the expansion of the port. Vast industrial settlements came in its wake, including
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RAF North Coates


location of the School of Explosives Inspection and also No. 5131 (Bomb Disposal) Squadron. In January 1953 the airfield again fell victim to the weather, being overwhelmed during the North Sea flood and was temporarily abandoned when flooded to a depth of . In August 1953 the station became the home of No. 54 Maintenance Unit, tasked with breaking up redundant and crashed aircraft for spare parts, coming under No. 43 Group, Maintenance Command, in December 1954. Between February 1955 and October 1957 North Coates was the base
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Labworth Café


the flooding of Canvey Island in 1953 which claimed 58 lives. The flood prompted a succession of improvements to the sea defences around the perimeter of the island. The path of the new "second" seawall in 1953 followed the line of the promenade on the south side (beach side) of the cafe, but the larger replacement – completed in 1983 – was built around the cafe's north side (inland). The construction necessarily raised the ground on the north side to an equal level with the promenade on the south
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Canvey Island


The island is extremely flat, lying below mean high water level and consequently is at risk of flooding. Before reclamation, the surrounding area contained a number of islands separated by tidal creeks. Flood defences have been constructed since the Middle Ages, and the first sea wall to completely surround the island was built as part of the island's reclamation in 1622. The island suffered extensive flooding in 1731, 1736, 1791, 1881 and 1897, and substantial loss of life in the North Sea Flood of 1953. , the flood
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MV Princess Victoria


His medal is on permanent display in Stranraer Museum. There were 44 survivors but none of the ship's officers was among them. The sinking of "Princess Victoria" occurred during a severe European windstorm which also caused the North Sea Flood of 1953, claiming 531 fatalities in the UK alone, although this was the worst single incident in that storm. There were 133 deaths, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Maynard Sinclair and the MP for North Down, Sir Walter Smiles. There were no women or children
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USS Johnston (DD-821)


the Mediterranean on 3 September and joined the 6th Fleet in operations that carried it from French Morocco to Turkey; it then returned to home port on 4 February 1952. "Johnston" departed Newport on 7 January 1953, for NATO operations in the North Atlantic. Before sailing for duty in the Mediterranean on 16 March "Johnston" aided the Dutch after storms in the North Sea had caused extensive flooding in the Netherlands; its crew donated bundles of warm clothing and more than $1,200 for the storm victims. It operated in
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North Sea flood of 1953


was throughout Scotland, with 19 fatalities reported. The fishing village of Crovie (then in Banffshire, now Aberdeenshire), built on a narrow strip of land along the Moray Firth coast, was abandoned by many, as entire structures were swept into the sea. The surge raced down the East Coast into the southern North Sea, where it was amplified by shallower waters. In Lincolnshire, flooding occurred from Mablethorpe to Skegness, reaching as far as inland. Police Officers Charles Lewis and Leonard Deptford received George Medals for their part
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Isle of Thanet


by drainage ditches. Meanwhile, the exposed chalk cliffs are gradually being worn down by the sea, particularly at the North Foreland. Much else of the coast is a built-up area. The Wantsum area is still liable to flooding: during the North Sea flood of 1953 Thanet was cut off for a few days, but the sea defences have been strengthened since then. The soil and equable climate of the Isle have always encouraged arable farming. Today there are still farms inland, but the coast is nearly all covered
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North Sea flood of 1953


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. In 2013 a service was held at Chelmsford Cathedral to mark the 60th anniversary of the Great Flood, attended by Anne, Princess Royal. Acts of remembrance were also held in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
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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. On the night of 31 January 1953 the sea defences of Hunstanton, Norfolk, were overwhelmed by a storm surge, with up to of seawater flooding the low-lying South Beach area. Many U.S. service families were quartered there, and Leming's unit, the 67th Air Rescue Squadron, based at nearby RAF Sculthorpe, were
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Storm tides of the North Sea


northwest. Also vulnerable are the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, where the sea shallows and is funnelled toward the English Channel. Storm tides are a regular occurrence in the North Sea basin; several form each year. Although most do not cause significant damage, the impact of some has been devastating. During one, the February flood of 1825, the Danish coastline changed, as the North Jutlandic Island became separated from the Jutland Peninsula. The flood of 1976 and the "North Frisian Flood" of 1981 brought the highest water
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Johan van Veen


29, 1953. During the following night The Netherlands were struck by the biggest storm surge ever, the North Sea flood of February 1st, 1953. After the disaster a State Commission was installed (18 February 1953), Johan van Veen was appointed Secretary of the State Commission. In May 1953 the commission offered its first interim report, recommending immediate closure of the Hollandse IJssel with a storm surge barrier Flood barrier, and to implement Van Veen's plan to close the estuaries (the Delta Works). Eventually this work
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Sea Palling


defences were breached and Waxham was flooded in 1655 and 1741. The 18th century owner of Waxham, Sea Palling and Horsey, Sir Berney Brograve, by reviving a previous Act of Parliament, unsuccessfully tried to have the sea breaches repaired after many destructive inundations of his estate. Lack of proper maintenance of the dunes led to continuous breaches and it was not until the nineteenth century that a programme of sea defence work was started. The North Sea flood of 1953 took the lives of seven villagers – some of the 100 who perished
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North Sea flood of 1953


constructed storm surge barriers on the River Thames below London and on the River Hull where it meets the Humber Estuary. 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 proved unable to resist the combination of spring tide 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.
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Civil engineering and infrastructure repair in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina


, major pumping facilities and planning studies for improved levels of flood protection for New Orleans and southern Louisiana.Infrasite.net @ web.archive.org " The Delta Works are a series of constructions built between 1953 and 1997 in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea. The works consist of dams, sluices, locks, levees, and storm surge barriers. The works were initiated after the North Sea flood of 1953 in which 2,170 people were killed. Since Katrina,
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Geology of the North Sea


the North Sea, connecting the British Isles to Continental Europe. At one time there was land where the strait is now, a south-east extension of the Weald joining what is now Great Britain to continental Europe. The Strait of Dover opened during the Ice Age, as described below; as a result the British Isles have now become islands not connected with continental Europe any longer. The English Channel was formed by erosion caused by two major floods. The first was about 425,000 years ago, when an ice-dammed
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Oosterscheldekering


The Oosterscheldekering (English: Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier), between the islands Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, is the largest of the 13 ambitious Delta Works series of dams and storm surge barriers, designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding from the North Sea. The construction of the Delta Works was in response to the widespread damage and loss of life due to the North Sea Flood of 1953. The longest dam in the Delta Works, the nine-kilometer-long Oosterscheldekering ("kering" meaning barrier)
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58th Special Operations Wing


in February 1953. Truce talks between North Korea and the United Nations stalled in the spring of 1953. As a result, the Air Force began attacking previously excluded targets in the north. On 13 May 1953, Thunderjets from the 58 FBW struck the Toksan Dam, near Pyongyang causing a massive flood. Floodwaters from the breached dam destroyed ten bridges, ruined several square miles of rice crops, flooded over 1,000 buildings and rendered the Sunan Airfield inoperable. Three days later, the wing attacked the Chosan irrigation dam with similar results
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Delta Works


and the Second World War, little action was taken. In 1950 two small estuary mouths, the Brielse Gat near Brielle and the Botlek near Vlaardingen were dammed. After the North Sea flood of 1953, a Delta Works Commission was installed to research the causes and develop measures to prevent such disasters in future. They revised some of the old plans and came up with the "Deltaplan". Unlike the Zuiderzee Works, the Delta Plan's purpose is largely defensive and not for land reclamation. The Delta Plan is a national
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Henk Jonker


from "Partizanen Camera") and documented the post-war reconstruction, as well as the devastation caused in Zeeland by the North Sea Flood of 1953, which killed over 1800 people in the Netherlands. Jonker arrived in Zeeland with the very first aid workers, and photographed people standing on the roofs of their homes. In 1955 his photograph of a joyfully dancing couple was selected by Edward Steichen for the exhibition and book "The Family of Man". In 1959 he won second place in one of the World Press Photo
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Belvedere, London


broadcaster on BBC Radio in the 1920s and 1930s. Flood of 1953 The North Sea Flood of 1953 hit the area of Belvedere Marshes badly, leaving the 1700 gypsies who lived there with nothing. One person died in the flooding and hundreds had their homes damaged. Queen Elizabeth II came to visit the communities of Erith and Belvedere, who were without electricity for weeks, to pay her respects. Controversy Over Name There has been a lot of controversy with local residents over recent years about the correct name of the "village"
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Herne Bay


Brook now passes through the town's drainage system, allowing buildings to be built over the top. The brook has been prone to flooding during heavy rain, especially in inland areas, which regularly causes problems for people living in the Eddington area in southern Herne Bay. Stormy weather can cause the sea level by the coast to rise by up to two metres. In the past, this has caused disastrous flooding in the town, the worst in the town's history being in 1953. Coastal defences were subsequently constructed including groynes
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Foulness Island


Foulness Island is predominantly farmland and is protected from the sea by a sea wall. The island's unusual name is derived from the Old English "fugla næsse" ("bird headland"), referring to wildfowl. It is an internationally important site for migrating and breeding birds, including pied avocets. During the North Sea flood of 1953, almost the entire island was flooded and two people died. Before 1922, when the military road was built, the only access was across the Maplin Sands via the Broomway, a
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North Sea flood of 2007


levels. The flood and waves were expected to overwhelm sea defences and cause extensive flooding; in particular, the coasts of Norfolk and Kent. However, in the event, the storm surge was less than forecast, and damage was relatively minor. However, in the Norfolk village of Walcott, storms breached the sea wall. Also, the water level came to just 10 cm below the top of the sea wall surrounding Great Yarmouth. Flood warnings were issued for the east coast of Britain and the entire Dutch coast. The
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2013 Nordic storms


by SMHI, the storm brought Force 12 winds and heavy snowfall. The storm brought a storm surge to the Irish and North Seas with coastal flooding resulting from what the Environment Agency in the United Kingdom described as the worst storm surge in 60 years. Record water levels were also reported in the Øresund between Sweden and Denmark. Blizzards and severe weather in Sweden and Poland led to several fatalities. The North Sea storm surge on 4–5 December 2013 saw water damage 1,400 buildings and of land, and caused no direct deaths. This
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1978 North Sea storm surge


woman was reported drowned in her flooded home in Wisbech after the Nene burst its banks forcing 1000 people to evacuate their homes. Staff at the "Wisbech Standard", having been warned of a potential flood, went to the town's bridge and saw the waters rise, then recede, thinking the town had narrowly escaped they returned home, not realising until the morning that the town's north ward had flooded. King's Lynn suffered worse flooding in 1978 than in the storm of 1953. The Ouse overflowed onto the Quays
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1928 Thames flood


Horseferry Road was widened to afford access to the bridge. The height of the Embankments was raised and the river wall was strengthened along substantial parts of the river. Proposals were made for the construction of a Thames flood barrier, but these came to nothing, due to concerns that such a barrier would impede shipping access to the London docks. The flood of January 1928 was the last major flood in the city centre, although the North Sea flood of 1953 came within millimetres of overtopping the Embankment and did flood Bermondsey and some
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North Sea flood of 1953


In Dutch history and culture this flood has been named ""de Watersnoodramp"". 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 stations operated only during the day. As a result, the warnings of the KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) did not penetrate the flood-threatened area in time. People were unable to prepare for the impending flood. The disaster struck on a Saturday
19899919
Geography of Tuvalu


ranging from 10 to 40 percent. In Funafuti sea waves flattened the Hurricane Bebe bank at the southern end of the airstrip, which caused sea flooding and prompted the evacuation of several families from their homes. In Nui and Niulakita there was a minor loss of the landscape because of sea flooding while there were no lives lost. Soon after the systems had impacted Tuvalu, a Disaster Rehabilitation Sub-Committee was appointed to evaluate the damage caused and make recommendations to the National Disaster Committee and to the Cabinet of Tuvalu, on what
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Cyclone Ofa


and Nukulaelae. On Funafuti sea waves flattened the Hurricane Bebe bank at the southern end of the airstrip, which caused sea flooding and prompted the evacuation of several families from their homes. In Nui and Niulakita there was a minor loss of the landscape because of sea flooding while there were no lives lost. After the systems had impacted Tuvalu, a Disaster Rehabilitation Sub-Committee was appointed to evaluate the damage caused and make recommendations to the National Disaster Committee and to the Cabinet on what should be done to help rehabilitate the affected
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1928 Thames flood


The 1928 Thames flood was a disastrous flood of the River Thames that affected much of riverside London on 7 January 1928, as well as places further downriver. Fourteen people died and thousands were made homeless when flood waters poured over the top of the Thames Embankment and part of the Chelsea Embankment collapsed. It was the last major flood to affect central London, and, along with the disastrous North Sea flood of 1953, helped lead to the implementation of new flood-control measures that culminated in the construction of the Thames Barrier
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Nederlandse Waterschapsbank


was not well equipped to handle the banking and lending activities and so on December 19, 1952 it decided to set up a separate water board bank to handle this task. The bank would raise risk less capital from the water boards and later other government organisations and lend this out to the water boards as required. The main aim was to provide the cheapest possible source of funding for the government entities. The disaster caused by the North Sea flood of 1953 sped up the development of the bank and on May 5, 1954
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Wantsum Channel


north, but by 1540, when John Leland recorded a visit there, the coastline to the north had receded to within little more than a quarter of a mile (400 m). It may be that sediment from this erosion contributed to the blocking of the north mouth of the Wantsum. The southern section of the Wantsum Channel is represented by the River Stour, which empties into the Strait of Dover at Pegwell Bay. The North Sea flood of 1953 led to the flooding of the land where the Wantsum Channel formerly ran
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North Sea flood of 1953


million people in the provinces of South and North 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 of Nieuwerkerk commandeered the river ship "de Twee Gebroeders" ("The Two Brothers")
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Flood control


, where they are referred to as Delta Works with the Oosterschelde dam as its crowning achievement. These works were built in response to the North Sea flood of 1953, in the southwestern part of the Netherlands. The Dutch had already built one of the world's largest dams in the north of the country. The Afsluitdijk closing occurred in 1932. The Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex was completed in 2008, in Russia, to protect Saint Petersburg from storm surges. It also has a main traffic function, as it completes
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South Holland


in 1953, the south of South Holland was heavily struck by the North Sea flood, which took the lives of 677 South Hollanders. After this, the Dutch government decided for the construction of the Delta Works, which came to an end with the completion of the Maeslantkering in 1997. South Holland covers an area of , of which is water. It borders the North Sea to the west, North Holland to the north, Utrecht and Gelderland to the east, and North Brabant and Zeeland to the south. Beside the
9201782
Peter de Neumann


", the very first Fighter Catapult Ship and a forerunner of the Catapult Armed Merchantmen. From 1947 to 1953, he captained . De Neumann began developing thoughts on the potential for a port-control system while he was captain of HMRC "Vigilant". These ideas followed on from considering such incidents as the accidental ramming of the submarine by HMS "Divina" in 1950, the Norwegian vessel "Baalbek"s collision with the Nore Army Fort in 1953, and the disastrous North Sea flood that resulted in the flooding of Canvey Island
11251532
Thurrock


January 1953, the low-lying areas of Thurrock were inundated by the North Sea flood of 1953. The Van den Berghs and Jurgens margarine factory, which manufactured Stork margarine, was forced to stop production for many months. Since the output of this factory constituted one third of the country's ration allocation, this led to a severe strain on the supply of margarine in the UK. Most schools in Thurrock were closed, either as a direct result of the flooding or in order to use them to help the relief effort
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North Sea


ring dikes into a dike line along the entire coast, thereby turning amphibious regions between the land and the sea into permanent solid ground. The modern form of the dikes supplemented by overflow and lateral diversion channels, began to appear in the 17th and 18th centuries, built in the Netherlands. The North Sea Floods of 1953 and 1962 were impetus for further raising of the dikes as well as the shortening of the coast line so as to present as little surface area as possible to the punishment of the sea and the storms.
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Aldeburgh


west. The beach is mainly shingle and wide in places, allowing fishing boats to draw up onto the beach above the high tide, but it narrows at the neck of Orford Ness. The shingle bank allows access to the Ness from the north, passing a Martello tower and two yacht clubs at the site of the former village of Slaughden. Aldeburgh was flooded during the North Sea flood of 1953 and its flood defences were then strengthened. The beach received a Blue Flag rural beach award in 2005. The town is within
12432109
1978 North Sea storm surge


Harwich and Dovercourt saw parts of the town quay and approach roads flooded. South Essex was sheltered from the main force of wind, with some breaches in rural locations, but compared to 1953 damages were light. In East London no major damage was experienced, the steel and rubber floodgates designed to protect the major London docks were closed for the first time since their completion in 1972. Dikes reinforced 4 years previously prevented flooding in London, Flood waters rose 5 inches above the previous defences. with sea levels being half a metre
18810691
Beach evolution


and other coastal structures. A storm surge is an onshore gush of water associated with a low pressure weather system—storms. Storm surges can cause beach accretion and erosion. Historically notable storm surges occurred during the North Sea Flood of 1953, Hurricane Katrina, and the 1970 Bhola cyclone. The gradual evolution of beaches often comes from the interaction of longshore drift, a wave-driven process by which sediments move along a beach shore, and other sources of erosion or accretion, such as nearby rivers. Deltas are nourished by
19307963
Gale of January 1976


Liverpool the largest surge in the city's history was recorded, with a total high water at 1.98 m in January 1976, resulting in a high water level 5.56 m above the mean tidal level (MTL). As the strong wind passed over the North Sea, a storm surge was recorded all along the east coast of the United Kingdom on 3 January, advancing from the northern North Sea, water levels in the north of England rose higher than those of the North Sea flood of 1953, although they were lower in
8126167
Zierikzee


a population of around 10,730. Zierikzee, then located on the island of Schouwen, received city rights in 1248. There was a sea battle in 1304. In 1953, Zierikzee was damaged by the catastrophic North Sea flood of 1953. The English town of Hatfield sent help and a friendship has developed. The two towns have been twinned. In 1997 the municipality of Zierikzee merged into that of Schouwen-Duiveland. In 2015, the last surviving example of the city's defensive cannons; cast in 1552, was donated to
20474840
River Thames


Thames that affected much of riverside London on 7 January 1928, as well as places further downriver. Fourteen people were drowned in London and thousands were made homeless when flood waters poured over the top of the Thames Embankment and part of the Chelsea Embankment collapsed. It was the last major flood to affect central London, and, particularly following the disastrous North Sea flood of 1953, helped lead to the implementation of new flood-control measures that culminated in the construction of the Thames Barrier in the 1970s. The 1947 Thames flood
4548372
Cor van der Hart


Hart was one of the players to play the Watersnoodwedstrijd of 12 March 1953. This was a match played in the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris and to raise money for the victims of the North Sea flood of 1953. In 2003, Van der Hart told Dutch public broadcaster NOS that players such as himself and Bram Appel, Theo Timmermans, Bertus de Harder and Kees Rijvers had heard of the flood over the radio and realised their country was in a state of panic. While the KNVB, which still did not want
10640429
Albert Balink


Caribbean, "My Paradise is Hell". In the 1950s he was editor of the magazine "The Knickerbocker", a publication for Dutch Americans which he had established. With the magazine he helped the baseball player Han Urbanus train with the New York Giants and chaired the William the Silent Award Committee. In early 1953 he served as executive of Holland Flood Relief Inc., which helped coordinate relief efforts during the North Sea flood of 1953. He was also an active amateur tennis player. Balink died in Pensacola, Florida,
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Schielands Hoge Zeedijk


a minor. The Schielands Hoge Zeedijk never really collapsed, though the All Saints' Flood of 1570 indicated its weakness. In 1574 it was deliberately cut through in sixteen places during the Siege of Leiden. On 1 February 1953, during the North Sea Flood of 1953, the dike almost collapsed between Capelle aan den IJssel and Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel; the hole was filled by sailing a ship into the dike, an event commemorated by the monument "Dubbeltje op zijn kant" ("dime on its edge", a
8409477
Outburst flood


that this area may have been subject to outburst flooding. Originally there was an isthmus across the Strait of Dover. During an earlier glacial maximum, the exit from the North Sea was blocked to the north by an ice dam, and the water flowing out of rivers backed up into a vast lake with freshwater glacial melt on the bed of what is now the North Sea. A gently upfolding chalk ridge linking the Weald of Kent and Artois, perhaps some 30 metres (100 feet) higher than the current sea level,
17229297
RSPB Minsmere


to Minsmere, in a series of storms in 1286, 1328 and 1347, and the 1953 storm which caused flooding and destruction in much of eastern England. Minsmere faces threats from rising sea levels, caused by climate change, which adversely affect the drainage of the reserve and can lead to river flooding. Coastal erosion also threatens the integrity of the reserve. An Environment Agency assessment in 2011 estimated that Dunwich Heath, the beach at Minsmere and the artificial clay bank behind the beach could suffer severe damage within 20 years, although
6922185
1953 North Kyushu flood


standards of flood control have been taken against further floods. The name of the flood remains unsettled. In Kumamoto Prefecture, "Shirakawa Great Flood" or "6.26 Flood" is usually used, while the name of the flood differs from literature to literature. In Kitakyushu city, they use「北九州大水害」or "North Kyushu Great Flood". In the Japanese Wikipedia article,「昭和28年西日本水害」(1953, Nishinippon Flood) is used, based on the decision of the Western Japan Branch of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers. In this article, "1953 North Kyushu Flood
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Isle of Grain


to 1952, and it suffered flooding almost immediately when the North Sea flood of 1953 breached the sea wall. In the 1990s the refinery site was chosen for a purpose-built facility to make concrete lining segments for the Channel Tunnel. There was not the space to make the sections at the Shakespeare Cliff construction site near Folkestone at the tunnel's entrance, so the Isle of Grain was used because large quantities of granite aggregate could be delivered there by ship from Glensanda in Scotland, and the finished sections could then be transported
12626918
North Sea flood of 1962


The North Sea flood of 1962 was a natural disaster affecting mainly the coastal regions of Germany and in particular the city of Hamburg in the night from 16 February to 17 February 1962. In total, the homes of about 60,000 people were destroyed, and the death toll amounted to 315 in Hamburg. In addition, three people were killed in the United Kingdom by high winds, which damaged around 175,000 houses in the worst affected city, Sheffield. The flood was caused by the "Vincinette" low-pressure system, approaching
7978985
North Sea flood of 1953


, more than 230 deaths occurred on water craft along Northern European coasts as well as on ships in deeper waters of the North Sea. The ferry MV "Princess Victoria" was lost at sea in the North Channel east of Belfast with 133 fatalities, and many fishing trawlers sank. Realising that such infrequent events could reoccur, the Netherlands, particularly, and the United Kingdom carried out major studies on strengthening of coastal defences. The Netherlands developed the Delta Works, an extensive system of dams and storm surge barriers. The UK
19899917
North Sea flood of 1953


Holland only one polder was flooded. The most extensive flooding occurred on the islands of Schouwen-Duiveland, Tholen, Sint Philipsland, Goeree-Overflakkee, the Hoeksche Waard, Voorne-Putten and Alblasserwaard. Parts of the islands of Zuid-Beveland, Noord-Beveland, IJsselmonde, Pernis, Rozenburg, Walcheren and Land van Altena were flooded, as well as parts of the areas around Willemstad, Nieuw-Vossemeer and parts of Zeelandic Flanders. The highest death tolls were recorded on the islands of Schouwen-Duiveland and Goeree
19899921
Flood control in the Netherlands


The proposed solution was to dam all the river mouths and sea inlets thereby shortening the coast. However, because of the scale of this project and the intervention of the Second World War its construction was delayed and the first works were only completed in 1950. The North Sea flood of 1953 gave a major impulse to speed up the project. In the following years a number of dams were built to close off the estuary mouths. In 1976, under pressures from environmental groups and the fishing industry, it was decided not to
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Lauwersmeer


large two-forked estuary to the nearly square inlet seen on recent maps. The first serious plans for draining the Lauwers Sea were from 1849. In the 1930s a commission came up with several plans but all were shelved and were never accomplished. The flood disaster of 1953 and the Christmas flood of 1954 made clear that something had to be done. In 1958 the New Delta Law ordered a reinforcement of the dikes in the north of the Netherlands. At the Lauwers Sea there were two options, to reinforce the existing dikes
21954561
Dungeness Nuclear Power Station


. In recorded history Walland Marsh to the west of the power stations has been flooded. In the space of sixty years severe inundation occurred, temporarily bringing the sea inland to Appledore and the original mouth of the River Rother from north of the headland at Romney to the south at Rye Harbour. The site is a few metres above Mean Sea Level and would be isolated in the event of flooding of the magnitude that submerged large areas of East Anglia and the Netherlands in 1953. It has been conjectured that the hurricane of 1987
5107380
Jaywick


angry criticism from residents and Tendring District Council Cabinet Member Paul Honeywood, saying "I know that many Jaywick Sands residents will be outraged at being smeared in this way, and rightly so." Stella has since apologised and a spokesperson for the Stella campaign said "our intent was never to make fun of the town". During the North Sea flood of 1953, Jaywick was flooded, resulting in the deaths of 35 people. Since then, sea defences have been put in place and many precautions have been made to avoid
8012508
1953 North Kyushu flood


" is used, based on the areas of the flood. In the early part of June 1953, a rainy season front (baiyu zensen) stayed in the middle of Kyushu causing heavy rain, which went southward to Amami Oshima. On the other hand, a Pacific anticyclone present in the Philippines pressed the rainy season front to the Tsushima Strait. At the same time, an anticyclone from China moved to Kyushu pressing the front to Yakushima. The rainy season front was pressed both from west and south, and stayed in
552039
Herne Bay Pier


bridges, and replaced by a narrow-gauge steam railway which was gone by 1959. On 1 March 1949 the pier entrance suffered sea-storm damage, and again between 31 January and 1 February in the North Sea flood of 1953, when a twenty-foot storm surge swept past the old pier-master's house, Richmond Villa, and as far as the High Street. As a result, in 1953 the stone balustrade from London Bridge, set at the entrance in 1833, was taken down and replaced with
13262850
105 Barking Road


February 1953, the Thames flooded the area of Canning Town and Custom House, it's known as North Sea Flood of 1953. An estimated 1,500 homes were damaged; 105 Barking Road once again provided temporary accommodation for those affected. Apart from hosting political events and delivering humanitarian aid, the public hall has also held a wide variety of community events. Newham Council’s records show that 105 Barking Road was often to provide tea and entertainment for children selected from “the poorest streets". It has also housed flower shows,
16866514
Cyclone Xaver


sea towards the southwest corner of the sea, with onshore winds driving large waves towards the coast. On Thursday, hundreds of people were evacuated from Rhyl, Denbighshire when high tides caused flooding in several streets. North Wales saw a total of 300 homes flooded, mostly in Rhyl with homes also flooded in Kinmel Bay and Llanddulas in Conwy. Flooding in New Brighton, Merseyside, left cars and businesses flooded at Marine Point and Kings Parade, with police warning the public to keep away from the promenade and Vale Park. In
15444104
History of Margate


be an inspiration to us all as long as we live." The storm of early March 1949 caused widespread damage in Margate and along the North Kent Coast. Kent Fire Brigade estimated that it took 1,550 man hours to fight the floods which had devastated Kent in the previous two weeks. The high tide caused flooding at various points between Margate and Crayford. The tidal surge swept down the North Sea, into the Thames Estuary and up the river valleys, reaching inland. So bad was the flooding that Chatham, Rochester,
8095579
1872 Baltic Sea flood


there and extreme low water levels on the Danish-German coastlines. As a result, large quantities of water were able to flow into the western Baltic from the North Sea. The storm increased in strength, and changed direction. The winds now blew from the northeast, and drove the water masses back in a south-westerly direction. Because the water could only flow slowly back into the North Sea, huge waves caught coastal dwellers by surprise on the morning of 13 November 1872 and caused floods over a metre high in
11923008
1953 North Kyushu flood


the flood was a natural disaster and could not be helped. 1953 was the year of great disasters; the heavy rain in the south Kishu area, Wakayama Prefecture, with 1,046 people dead and missing and in the Minami Yamashiro area(105 people were killed). The causes were attributed to reckless deforestation, and the lack of water control after the second world war. The damaged Yoake Dam was investigated but the inadequate water control of the upper river was found to blame. The Japanese Government decided to follow America and its Tenessey Valley
552042
1953 North Kyushu flood


The 1953 North Kyushu flood was the flood which hit Northern Kyushu, Japan (Fukuoka Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture) in June 1953. The torrential rain of the rainy season, amounting to more than 1,000 mm on Aso and Hikosan mountains, produced the great flood to many rivers such as Chikugo River and the toll of more than 1,000 people dead and missing. 450,000 houses were flooded and 1,000,000 people suffered from the flood. The fundamental change of flood control in the Kyushu area was needed and the
552037
Cyclone Xaver


and Deurgancdok, Antwerp after 5 containers fell off a ship, 4 were empty and one loaded with tapioca, they were eventually washed up near Terneuzen. In the Netherlands, the water reached the highest level since the North Sea flood of 1953 at 3.99m above normal sea level. In 1953, the water rose to 4.55m on the night of 1 February, and dykes broke in at least 90 places resulting in the worst natural disaster in the Netherlands since the 1900s. The Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier closed all its
15444115
Vrijberge


, it was merged with a neighbouring town. Vrijberge came into existence in the 18th century after some previously flooded areas were again turned into habitable land, through the erection of dykes. It was through the management of these polders that Vrijberge gained its own small administration. The area, like most of Tholen, was flooded during the 1953 North Sea storm flood. Vrijberge, with less than 50 inhabitants, had by then already ceased to be of any importance. Since 1970 the whole island of Tholen is administered as a single
10152728
Puttershoek


missiles were launched from the factory by the German occupying forces. The factory was bombed, and was rebuilt after the war. At the end of 2004, the sugar mill closed its doors. Most of its buildings were demolished in 2012. Puttershoek was partially flooded during the big North Sea flood of 1953. After the flood the dike along the Oude Maas was raised. For this, nearly half of the old town (the Weverseinde dike) was torn down between 1964 and 1966. The monumental 17th-century farm "
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