This morning, Delta Programme Commissioner Wim Kuijken was present and laid a wreath at the commemoration of the 1953 flood disaster. Others in attendance included the King’s Commissioner in Zeeland, the mayor and members of the municipal executive of Schouwen-Duiveland, the regional chief engineers and directors of Rijkswaterstaat, and many survivors and interested parties. Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the disaster that flooded huge parts of the provinces of Zeeland, West-Brabant and the islands of Zuid-Holland. More than 1800 people and many animals were drowned in the flood; over 100,000 people lost their homes and possessions.
Photo: Riesjard Schropp
Delta Programme Commissioner Wim Kuijken: ‘Every year we commemorate the catastrophic flood in order to remember its victims, and to look ahead to protecting ourselves from flooding in the future. The place of commemoration in Ouwerkerk is also a symbolic spot: the past, the present and the future come together here. This is where I began my work as Delta Programme Commissioner in 2010. Since then, a Delta Programme has been published every year, containing measures and projects aimed at keeping our country protected, after the Delta Works too, and focusing on preventing another catastrophic flood.’
Last week, the minister designated the nearby Watersnoodmuseum as the Nationaal Kennis- en Herinneringscentrum Watersnoodramp 1953 (1953 flood disaster national research and remembrance centre). Wim Kuijken: ‘I firmly believe in – and worked towards – having a focal point at which all knowledge and information about the disaster, and about how through the Delta Programme we can try and prevent a future disaster, is gathered and put on display.’