North Sea flood

North Sea flood, the worst storm surge on record for the North Sea, occurring Jan. 31 to Feb. 1, 1953. In the Netherlands some 400,000 acres (162,0000 hectares) flooded, causing at least 1,800 deaths and widespread property damage. In eastern England, up to 180,000 acres (73,000 hectares) were flooded, some 300 lives were lost, and 24,000 homes were damaged. At least 200 more people died at sea, including 133 of the passengers aboard the Princess Victoria ferry.

Hurricane-force winds over the North Sea generated a storm surge that sent a wall of water toward each coast. Neither country had a central agency responsible for flood warnings, and the rapid destruction of telephone lines in affected regions made it impossible to warn other communities of the storm’s severity. More than 60 miles (100 km) of seawalls collapsed, and more than 50 dikes burst along the coast of the Netherlands. Tens of thousands of livestock drowned in the flooding, and the salt water contaminated farmland for several years.

The Netherlands’ flood defense system had suffered extensive damage in World War II, and many dikes were still in urgent need of repair. In the wake of the flood, the country launched a massive construction effort called the Delta Project (or Delta Works), which raised the height of sea, canal, and river dikes and cut off sea estuaries in the vulnerable Zeeland province. The project, designed to reduce the threat of flooding in the Netherlands to once per 4,000 years, has been called one of the seven wonders of the modern world. The United Kingdom has also taken steps to protect its coastlines, notably by construction of the Thames Barrier (completed 1982) across the Thames estuary, just downstream from London. In 1953 the Meteorological (later Met) Office was entrusted with forecasting, monitoring, and warning the country of potential storm and flood threats. In 1996 the Environment Agency was created to oversee flood defense and warning.