(Unknown French footage)
In 1953, the Dutch were once again confronted with the power of the sea. The colossal disaster happened on February the 1st. It was to be one of the biggest floods in the history of the Netherlands.
Aside from the poor condition of
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the many dikes in the Delta area, the flood was largely due to an unfortunate combination of climatic circumstances.
A hurricane moved towards the Netherlands, which, at that moment, had a high tide. The high tide was intensified by the hurricane's influence and in some places within the Netherlands, water began to run over the dikes.
The flood disaster of 1953 eventually led to the understanding that the condition of the dikes needed to be improved at last.
In August 1953, the Delta committee gave advice for the restoration of which dikes needed to be repaired most urgently: the dike of Schouwen and the moveable storm surge barrier in the Dutch IJssel
Meanwhile, volunteers and dike workers worked to close the gaps in the dikes. Within a week, 30,000 volunteers had registered to help repair the dikes. The Ministry of Waterways and Public Works led the restoration works, which was financed by the government.
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