What would happen if the 1953 storm were to strike
the Netherlands today?

How did the 1953 storm compare to the
All Saints' Day storm?


--

When the Rapture comes, can I have your car?
When global warming comes, can I have your coat?

Athiest 4 Bush wrote:
What would happen if the 1953 storm were to strike
the Netherlands today?

I guess that all depends on whom you ask. Personally I would not be too
scared about a feb.'53 type of storm. But then again, it all depends on
timing. High water (or better, extreme high tides) along with very
strong winds and the associated wall of water, being just in the right
place were maintenance has been, well .. say .. not up to standards,
well .. you've seen to what that can lead.

How did the 1953 storm compare to the
All Saints' Day storm?


Dude, use Google a bit more often! .. One quick ref I pulled from
the KNMI site:
http://www.knmi.nl/kenniscentrum/wat...atuurramp.html
... but then again, it does depend on you being able to read a Dutch
text. Not sure though if something similar exists in English. Most
important quote from the article:

"De zeldzaamheid van de stormvloed van 1953 is vooral te wijten aan de
extreme waterstanden." which more or less translates to "The stormsurge
of 1953 is exceptional because of the extreme waterlevels". Sooo .. a 53
kinda storm in itself is not really a thing to worry much about.
However, when timing is really off (an exceptional stormsurge combined
with high spring at precisely the right time (which wasn't the case even
in '53!) things could become messy ...

--
"The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to
keep all its eggs in."
Robert Heinlein

How did the 1953 storm compare to the
All Saints' Day storm?

Another link the KNMI site came up with:
http://www.knmi.nl/VinkCMS/explained...il.jsp?id=3811

It compares the 53 storm with All Saints' Day (1570) and St. Elisabeths'
(1421) storms. The latter two storms were way worse than the 53 storm in
extent of flooded area and stormsurge. Interesting though it just sums
up all the common factors all three storms have in common:

* Extreme storm coming from the northwest
* Slowmoving storm with an extensive stormfield
* As a result of the previous two points a huge stormsurge is created
* Waterlevels are already high because of:
1) High-tide (spring)
2) Extensive rainfall having raised the waterlevels in the rivers

In '53 Vlissingen reported +455 cm above NAP (being the 0-point). At
this point the dikes broke.

The most recent stormsurges we jan 3rd, 1976 (Vlissingen +394 cm),
febr 27, 1990 (+384 cm) and jan 28, 1994 (+387 cm). No failures on
dikes/levees were reported in those years.

--
"The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to
keep all its eggs in."
Robert Heinlein

"Athiest 4 Bush" wrote in message
...
What would happen if the 1953 storm were to strike
the Netherlands today?

Very little, I imagine given the extent of the new barriers that they have
built.