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Watersnoodmuseum

Where this source supports the record

Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.

  1. Natural disasters · 31 January-1 February 1953

    North Sea Flood in the Netherlands

    Watersnoodmuseum and the Ouwerkerk breach · Netherlands

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    Why editors use it here

    National knowledge and remembrance center documenting the 1953 flood and its surviving Ouwerkerk caissons.

    1. Quick read

      During the night of 31 January to 1 February 1953, a severe northwesterly storm and spring tide drove a destructive surge into the low-lying southwestern Netherlands.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026
    2. Trigger and conditions

      A long storm field pushed North Sea water toward the Dutch coast as a spring tide raised the baseline.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026
    3. Uncertainty

      This file centers the Dutch disaster and its 1,836 recorded deaths; totals for the wider North Sea storm include losses in Britain, Belgium, and at sea and therefore differ.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026
    4. Why it matters

      The 1953 flood is a landmark in risk governance because it joined public memory to a multi-generation engineering program.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026