The Dutch Sea Land (Zeeland) : Battling the raging seas

Since time immemorial the Dutch have battled the ranging, reaching forces of the sea.

Port Zeeland from the air.

The Dutch province of Zeeland (Sea Land), in the west of the country, consists of low lying land adrift in a vast delta into which the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt Rivers drain. It has been an area of constant flooding over the centuries with 2 floods of biblical proportion. In 1421 a flood took 100 000 lives and devastation struck again more recently in 1953 with 2000 lives lost and hundreds of miles of dykes devastated. The latter inspired what is referred to as the Delta Works.

Oosterscheldekering, the largest of 13 Delta Works’ dams and barriers.

The Delta Works is a huge construction project that aimed to protect large areas of land from the sea by construction dykes, docks, levees, storm surge barriers …… It took over 50 years to complete although it is acknowledged that the project will need to be somewhat ongoing with rising sea levels.

Windsurfing in Zeeland.

With the sheer amount of flat water and exposure to the elements it is also a windsurfers’ paradise, albeit most of the time on the chilly side !