Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The 1953 North Sea Flood - Witness

I assume that outside the Netherlands and possibly the UK, the 1953 North Sea Flood is hardly known. The BBC Program Witness had an issue about this flood on 31 January, the 57th anniversary of this natural disaster. (feed)

A combination of spring tide and a severe storm swept the seas to a level that was too much for the coastal defenses in England, Belgium, France, Denmark and most notably in the Netherlands. As the waves got past them and swept over the lands in the dark winter night. Many homes and farmlands were destroyed and numerous cattle as well as around 2400 people died, over 1800 of them in The Netherlands. In Witness one hears a Dutch survivor of the flood retell her experiences fleeing from the tides and spending over 24 hours on a rooftop awaiting rescue and many consecutive months until repatriation to their patch of land.

More Witness:
Raking up Roswell,
Silent Spring,
Oslo Accords,
Witness BBC.

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