100 years of dry feet

a nice monument to remember that we have 100 years of dry feet. Thanks to the dike.

In the night of 13 to 14 January 1916, the storm surge occurred above the Zuiderzee. That caused a lot of problems. Dikes broke in many places and the area between Amsterdam and Hoorn was flooded. The damage was extensive and many people drowned.
Dyke breachIt rained heavily in the days before the flood. As a result, the dike was very soaked and weak, so cracks appeared in it. The beginning of the dike breach. The bells of the church towers were rung to warn the people in the surrounding villages, but the signal did not reach everyone in time. In the province of North Holland alone, 19 people were killed and 32 people were killed in maritime disasters at sea. Queen Wilhelmina also visited the affected areas at the time.
Zuiderzee ActDue to the disaster and the shortage of food during the First World War, the Zuiderzee Act was introduced. This meant that the Zuiderzee would be stopped by a closing dike and that it would be the responsibility of the state. The Zuiderzee Works started in 1926 with a pilot polder in Andijk. A year later, the construction of the dike to close off the Zuiderzee began. The raging sea was eventually tamed by the flood defenses we know today as the Afsluitdijk.
Dry feetBecause it is exactly 100 years ago that large parts of North Holland and Marken flooded, the Storm flood is commemorated with a special project called WaterKustLand. The Dijk van een Kust foundation devotes attention to the flood disaster throughout the year with activities and events. This week, many of the commemorations are taking place in the villages affected at the time. In Marken, for example, they hold a special church service and ring the church bells in the evening. Surrounding churches in Volendam, Monnickendam, Edam and Amsterdam-Noord follow that example.(maxvandaag.nl Sessions/themas/back-to-toen/100-year-droge-feet/)

Monument with a beautiful view of the sea.