Today, I took full advantage of our 12:45pm start time and caught up on some much needed sleep.
Our only activity today was a trip to the Watersnoodmuseum, which is located on an island in Zeeland. The Watersnoodmuseum is made up of 4 caissons that follow the North Sea flood of 1953. The first caisson described the disaster itself which was caused by a severe storm surge that overwhelmed the area’s dikes. This disaster paved the way for the creation of the delta works, which we will be visiting later this week. It was cool to make this connection and see how our visits build on one another. The second caisson focused on the lives lost and personal stories of survivors. Because this storm happened over night, emergency communications were either delayed or not delivered at all, resulting in over 1800 deaths. We watched videos of survivors recalling their experience and how it has affected them later in life. The museum had a wall dedicated ti listing the names and ages of those who died in the flood. The sheer amount of names and the fact that so many were very young was very powerful to see.
The next two caissons were very important to see from an engineering perspective. The third one focused on the rebuilding efforts after the flood, such as the creation of the delta works. The disaster also produced a lot of innovative designs/technologies that influenced water management systems throughout the world. The fourth and final caisson, which focused on the future of water management, was very interactive. We played a game where we had to save a coastal town from rising water levels while considering the effects of our decisions on the people, nature, and economy. As an engineer, I will have to consider all these factors in my decisions, so it was cool to see examples of how this might work in practice. The last caisson also discussed climate change and its affects on global water management. Rapidly rising sea levels are going to be a problem future engineers, including myself, have to solve. Overall, these final caissons emphasized how engineering is not just about finding technical solutions, but also about balancing environmental, social, and economic impacts.
The Watersnoodmuseum was a powerful mix of history and innovation. It was eye opening to see how a single disaster shaped the Netherlands’ approach to water management. I’m excited to see how it all comes together when we visit the Delta Works later this week.