Today we went to the Watersnoodmuseum. This museum teaches about a disastrous event in 1953 in which a massive flood occurred. This flood was the result of numerous factors, the most prominent being a heavy storm and high tide occurring during tidal high tide and spring tide. The disaster killed 1836 people in the Netherlands.

On January 29, a low-pressure storm developed and slowly made its way to the Netherlands. The storm’s peak lasted a long time with a daily average wind force of eight on January 31 and February 1. Unfortunately, the water was pushed south and was unable to flow back into the sea. The water level rose 5.6 meters (or 18 ft 4 in) above sea level. Even after the storm itself stopped, the water kept rushing in. Cold weather followed as it was the middle of winter and hypothermia claimed multiple lives.

Going to the museum and reading the stories of the people who died was extremely heartbreaking. One man lost his parents and siblings after leaving the island the night before on the last ferry. Another lost 42 members of his family. Death was cruel and widespread. Babies were born in the morning and died at night. Mothers lost their children. Children lost their mothers. Entire streets were demolished and swept to sea. One story that impacted me greatly was learning about the death of a little girl and her body being found in a different town. The grief was great for the villagers as a constant theme in the museum was the refusal to speak about the events.

Despite all the tragedy, the persistence of the human spirit shined through. After the storm, volunteers from 20 other countries helped rebuild the village and dike. Countries ranging from Sweden to America donated items to help survivors. Sweden built 200 prefabricated houses and gave them to those who lost their homes in the Netherlands. Even small countries with not a lot to give aid; the Vatican sent oranges and Nigeria sent 500 blankets. Funds were raised across the world and clothing, household goods, food, and various supplies were collected. The Dutch Red Cross received a surplus of goods to the point they had to send some to third-world countries so the goods did not go to waste. In total, 138 guilders or 500 million euros were raised for the Disaster Fund thanks to a weekly fundraising program on Dutch radio. Many people were able to rebuild their lives thanks to this aid.

The cleanup process itself was difficult. Townspeople who lived further inland scrubbed the silt off the roads and the homes. People who lived closer to the shore had to be evacuated due to the water still being present. The night of the storm, the Zuiddijk was breached in three places. One small hole was patched but water was widening the other two. The speed of the water made it difficult to fix the holes so a ring dike was built in the sand in front of the polder. To close the holes, caissons were filled with sand and guided to the desired area. However, the strength of the wind and current made it difficult to position the cassions. Finally, on November 6. 1953, the cassions were put in place and they could start pumping water out of the town. The museum now exists within this cassions.

From this disaster, many lessons were learned. The dikes had not been maintained since before World War II. On top of that, the dikes were tunneled out and used for bunkers during the war, compromising the structural integrity. Now, coastal protection are regularly monitored and conditions for floods are tested.

The museum also discussed the politics of flood protection. The Dutch approach on flood protection is that flood management is a national concern. They tax on everyone for the construction and maintenance of dikes, no matter where you live. Contrastingly, the UK’s stance on flood protection is an “every man for himself” scenario. They do believe that homeowners assume their own risk. The government also does not tax everyone for coastal defense–only those who live on the coast. In my personal opinion, the way the UK taxes is illogical. People living on the coast are not the only ones who benefit from coast protection. In my view, if those people did not pay their taxes and the coast wasn’t managed, other people would be living on the coast. I think floodwater management should be a national issue because it is a national issue. Just because something doesn’t directly affect you doesn’t mean it won’t ever affect you. Eventually–especially with rising sea levels, coastal issues may affect those further inland in the UK.