The North Sea Flood

When a huge tidal wave hit England and the Netherlands on February 1, 1953, hundreds of dikes broke and were washed away by huge waves. The storm surge claimed 2,000 lives. Hundreds drowned in their homes and 1 million were made homeless. After the flood, the Dutch rebuilt and then built a new innovative series of dikes that would prevent reoccurence of such a disaster. Called the Eastern Scheldt Storm-Surge Barrier, it is one of the technological wonders of the world. Plaques in Britain and the Netherlands commemorate the dead.