Storm surge of 1916

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Flooded area, map from the final report of the Rijkswater State Authority of September 1916

The 1916 storm surge or the 1916 Zuiderzee flood is a flood disaster that occurred in the Netherlands and the Zuiderzee on the night of January 13-14, 1916 .

course

The storm surge coincided with a high, winter-related water level in the rivers. As a result, the dykes broke in dozens of places and the water caused damage to the remaining dykes in its course. Several houses on the island of Marken were destroyed. 19 people were killed in the province of Noord-Holland . Another 32 people died in several accidents at sea. Queen Wilhelmina visited the affected areas.

Breakthroughs and floods

Groningen Province
Friesland
Overijssel Province
  • The dikes there turned out to be too low, and a lot of damage was caused to the dike slopes.
  • In Zwolle , the dike was little Weezenland over.
  • In Zwartsluis a dike ran over.
  • Along the Zwarte Water and the Overijsselse Vecht , dikes overflowed and had to be reinforced.
  • The Dronther Überlauf ( Dronther overlaat ) ran for 20 hours and flooded the Overijsselse Land on the left bank of the IJssel.
Gelderland Province
  • Everywhere along the Zuiderzee dikes overflowed.
  • A hole was torn in the dike in the north of Elburg , but it did not break.
  • A breakthrough occurred in the east of Nijkerk .
  • In the west of Nijkerk there were two breakthroughs each 140 meters wide and two holes 75 and 90 meters wide
Utrecht Province
Flooding of the Eem on the Grote Koppel in Amersfoort
Province of North Holland
The military and citizens are deployed to build emergency dikes at the Anna Paulownapolder. Sacks of clay and sand are placed and then covered with earth.
  • Extreme flooding from the sustained northwest wind along the Zuiderzee before the disaster occurred.
  • Days of rain have also weakened the poorly maintained dykes. On the morning of January 14, 1916, powerful winds blowing northwards pushed the water over the Waterlandse Zeedijk , which then broke through at Katwoude . As a result, practically the entire Waterland region was flooded . Between Zaandam , Purmerend and Edam up to the IJ near Amsterdam-Noord the water had a free run. The various polder and ring dikes have also been largely overrun.
  • The Purmer and Wijdewormer remained dry, as did the dikes along the IJ and the Zuidersee.
  • Weeks later the water was still standing when a snow storm broke in on the night of February 22nd to 23rd. Two men drowned in the Buikslotermeer on February 18 when they could no longer hold on to a telephone pole. Today's Buikslotermeerplein had turned into a large inland lake, some of which were up to six meters deep. Among the many people who found refuge in Buiksloot Church , a little girl of four years old slipped into the water and drowned. In addition, livestock and other commodities disappeared in the floods.
  • The island of Marken with its deep harbor facilities was also under water. 16 people fell victim to the flood here.
  • The Amsteldijk also broke near the Anna Paulownapolder . Two people were killed here.
Province of Zuid-Holland

aftermath

Gerard Vissering, President of De Nederlandsche Bank, wrote in Algemeen Handelsblad that the Netherlands must now implement the so-called Plan-Lely . This planned to separate the Zuiderzee from the sea. The Zuiderzeevereeniging organized an information event in Amsterdam. On September 9, 1916, the hydraulic engineer and acting minister, Cornelis Lely , presented his extensive drafts for this that had already been completed for several years.

This disaster, in connection with the rampant food shortage in Holland during the First World War, led to the creation of the Zuiderzee Framework Act ( Zuiderzeewet ). The dike reinforcements, the extent of which the flood of 1916 now specified as necessary, were completed by 1926. In 1932, with the construction of the Afsluitdijk, the Zuidersee was “tamed”. However, this also meant the end of fishing there, since it is no longer possible to pass ships through the dike.

The flood also led to the establishment of a storm surge warning service. In North Holland, the Hoogheemraadschap Noordhollands Noorderkwartier was set up, which took over the maintenance of the dikes north of the North Sea Canal from the small Waterschapen .

Some communities in the north of Amsterdam were severely impoverished as a result of the flood and pressed for integration into Amsterdam. On January 1, 1921, the towns of Buiksloot , Nieuwendam and Ransdorp were then completely incorporated into Amsterdam.

Foreign aid

Documents from the Nationaal Archief in The Hague show that the Ottoman Empire supported the victims of the 1916 flood with aid funds of FL 2,387.90 (equivalent to around 20,000 euros today).

literature

  • JC Ramaer , H. Wortman, Verslag van den stormvloed van 13/14 januari 1916 , 's-Gravenhage , September 28, 1916.

Web links

Commons : Storm Surge of 1916  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jannetje Koelewijn, NRC Handelsblad January 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ a b c d Deltawerke Online about the Zuiderzeeflut , www.deltawerken.com, accessed March 11, 2017 (Dutch)
  3. ↑ a b c d e f 1916: The flood disaster that changed the Netherlands , www.kennislink.nl, accessed March 12, 2017. (Dutch)
  4. ↑ The 1916 flood disaster , www.waterlandsarchief.nl, accessed March 12, 2017 (Dutch)
  5. ↑ Flood disaster 1916. Map of the flood area, from Ter Wees album. With the breakthroughs at Uitdam / Zuiderwoude and at Katwoude , www.waterlandsarchief.nl, accessed March 12, 2017 (Dutch)
  6. ↑ a b De watersnood van 1916 , Oneindig Noord-Holland, accessed March 12, 2017 (Dutch)
  7. ↑ Buiksloot: January 14, 1916
  8. ↑ Turkish support for the Dutch during the floods in 1916 , www.dutchturks.nl, accessed March 12, 2017.