In 1916, on 13 and 14 January, the Zuiderzee region was hit by catastrophic floods. The high water levels of the preceding days and the destructive storm surge late in the night on 13 January into the early hours of 14 January, meant that the region incurred enormous loss and damage. This flood was literally the last drop: in that same year, engineer Cornelius Lely submitted a bill that would lead to the Zuiderzee Act. This constituted the first step towards the Zuiderzee Works, comprising the construction of the IJsselmeer Closure Dam and the reclamation of new land, namely the Flevopolder.
At this unique spot, the Nieuw Land Heritage Centre, a well-attended symposium looked at a range of floods, including that of 1916, but the focus was mainly on the future. What have we learned from severe floods and how do we deal with flooding today?
‘In the Netherlands, we have a long tradition of making our delta liveable and keeping its residents safe. Things did always go smoothly. Disasters occurred over the centuries, residents recovered, lessons were learned and new approaches were tried out. We always used to respond’, according to Delta Programme Commissioner Wim Kuijken. ‘’ Our approach to water had a turning point in 2010. Since then, our aim has been to prevent disasters. This is something new and unique in the world. The Delta Act went into force, we have an annual Delta Programme, for the first time there is structural financing available through the Delta Fund (1 billion euros a year), and we have a government commissioner who coordinates the Delta Programme for – and with – all stakeholders.
What do the disasters of the 1900s actually have in common? Most importantly, the weakness of the dykes, and the fact that, in every instance, programmes and ideas for solutions had already been developed but because they were low on the political agenda, or no funding was available, apparently a disaster had to happen before implementation could take place. A hard and painful lesson. The aim of the Delta Programme approach is to prevent disasters. We cannot allow another disaster to occur. If things go wrong again, if our rivers become overly full, while seawater penetrates inland during severe storms, or our sea barriers are closed and river water cannot be discharged, the heart of our country – the Randstad conurbation – will be in danger. The same applies to other parts of the Netherlands, such as the IJssel-Vecht delta. If such areas flood, we will be sidelined for decades due to the ensuing social and economic disruption. It was therefore logical to decide to work with a view to the future and to focus on disaster prevention."