1953 flooding disaster - Vlissingen, NL
Posted by: T-Team!
N 51° 26.440 E 003° 34.472
31U E 539931 N 5698987
At this point in 1953, the sea water reached the historic level of 4.55 m above NAP (Nieuw Amsterdams Peil) and the biggest natural disaster in the Netherlands was the result.
Waymark Code: WM14MTQ
Location: Zeeland, Netherlands
Date Posted: 07/28/2021
Views: 3
"Flood disaster 1953
The 1953 flood disaster is the largest Dutch natural disaster of the 20th century. A severe north-westerly storm in combination with spring tides caused large parts of our country to flood. 1,836 people did not survive the disaster, tens of thousands of animals lost their lives and houses were also destroyed.
Flood disaster 1953: what exactly happened?
A northwesterly storm developed south of Iceland on January 29, 1953. The storm continued south through Scotland. In the northern North Sea, the wind turned to north-northwest. The result: a storm field of 1,000 km long that headed straight for our coast.
The highest water level was measured in Vlissingen: 4.55 m+ NAP
The storm with wind force 10 reached the Dutch coast on Saturday evening January 31, 1953. In Zeeland, the peak of the storm was at 10 p.m., in IJmuiden at 1 a.m. and in Den Helder at 4 a.m. The heavy north-westerly storm, together with spring tides, caused a spring tide. Seawater rose to exceptional heights. At Hoek van Holland, the water reached a height of 3.85 m above Normal Amsterdam Level (NAP). (A NAP height of 0 m is now approximately equal to the mean sea level of the North Sea). A dangerously high water level for the densely populated hinterland of South Holland. The highest water level in Zeeland was measured at 03:24 AM in Vlissingen: 4.55 m +NAP. Many dikes at the time were not designed for this height and broke."
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