On Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:26:28 +0000
jbm wrote:

On 30/01/2013 23:24, Dave Cornwell wrote:
MCC wrote:
On the night of 30/31 January 1953 there was a screaming gale of
NW'ly wind
around the Northern Isles which caused a storm surge down the
North Sea causing serious flooding along the East Anglia and Kent
coasts and across into the mainland Europe low-lying coastal
countries accompanied by considerable loss of life.
I was a 13 year old boy growing up in Orkney at the time and
remember it very well.
-------------------------------------
My friend was a six year old living on Canvey Island. His and my
local Newsapaper have a large spread on it and an interview with
him. His father was a fireman on the Island and it was only in
recent years he could talk about it and even then not some of the
things he witnessed. Of course it was a relatively small closely
knit community. Some incredible storiess in there and one of the
underlying ones was the number that died from the cold as well as
drowning. Dave, S.Essex


Britain's Worst Peace Time Disaster
An 18 foot storm surge over topped every defence there was.
307 people died
24,000 homes were damaged or destroyed
Over 30,000 people were evacuated

Start he
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953
and then put "1953 floods" into Google.

Really puts today's flooding into perspective. BBC Look East are
doing a series on it during their news programmes, and Inside Out
(BBC East) gave it a 10 minute slot on Monday. Surprised the TV
companies haven't commissioned a full 1 hour documentary on it.
There's a memorial service in Chelmsford Cathedral tomorrow
(Thursday), along with special prayer services along the east coast
of England and Scotland at the places most affected.


Both BBC and Channel 5 broadcast hour-long(?) documentaries ten years
ago. I would dearly love to see the Channel 5 one again and, given the
chance, would record and keep it. The BBC one is one I wish to never
see again and could well have done without seeing it the first time.

An interesting point I recall from the Channel 5 program was that there
was a sort of "Maginot Line" effect where some villages had sea-defences
to the east, between them and the sea, but the water came in behind
them and surged in from the west.


--
Graham P Davis, Bracknell, Berks.
Feeling stressed and frustrated? Try a short session of contemplative
meditation. Or kick a ballboy. (https://twitter.com/GreySkyThinking)