Disaster struck in the night of 1 February 1953. A northwester whipped the water of the North Sea up to more than four metres above normal sea level. The dikes were breached in hundreds of places, and nearly 200,000 hectares of land were submerged. 1,835 people and 35,000 head of livestock lost their lives. 72,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes.
