The North Sea Flood of 1953: The Night the Dykes Broke

On the night of January 31, 1953, a northwest gale and a high spring tide drove the North Sea over the dykes of the Netherlands and the coasts of England, Scotland and Belgium. This is the story of the warnings that came too late for the people behind the dykes, the rescuers who went out into the water, and the engineer whose plan became the basis of the Delta Works. 0:00 Intro 0:48 Sea Land 2:19 The Road the Storm Took 3:48 Off the Air at Midnight 5:15 The Sea Comes In 7:54 The Second High Water 9:08 Fishermen First 11:09 Closing the Sea Sources: North Sea flood of 1953: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_S... Delta Works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_W... Johan van Veen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_v... Storm surge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_s... Zeeland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeeland Oosterscheldekering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oosters... Thames Barrier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_... Maps: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation imagery and Natural Earth linework (both public domain). River lines: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright Photographs and maps (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons): Agency for International Development. Wim van Rossem for Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) van Duinen / Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) van Duinen / Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Rijksmuseum (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Rijksmuseum (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Rijksmuseum (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) van Duinen / Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) van Duinen / Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Daan Noske / Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Cees de Boer (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) van Duinen / Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Joop van Bilsen for Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Unknown photographer (CC BY 4.0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...) Joop van Bilsen for Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...) Joop van Bilsen for Anefo (CC0): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... (licence: http://creativecommons.org/publicdoma...)