Netherlands: Delta Works flood-control project
Learn about flood control in the Netherlands.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Since over one-third of the Netherlands is below sea level, flooding is often a problem. For centuries the Dutch have successfully fought off the sea, reclaiming one-fifth of their land area.
TED C.J. SLUJTER: We Dutch are fighting the sea for already, let's say, 2,000 years. And we have to, because about half of our country is below sea level. So we have to fend—to defend our coast against the sea. In 1953 there was a big flood disaster in this region, the southwestern region, which is completely below sea level. More than 1,800 people were drowned, and that was the reason for our government to make this area safer. They announced a plan that was known as the Delta Project. We are here at the last stage, and this last stage is the Oosterschelde barrier. It took about 10 years to construct, and it costed about five and a half billion guilders, which approximately will mean two and a half American billion dollars.
TED C.J. SLUJTER: We Dutch are fighting the sea for already, let's say, 2,000 years. And we have to, because about half of our country is below sea level. So we have to fend—to defend our coast against the sea. In 1953 there was a big flood disaster in this region, the southwestern region, which is completely below sea level. More than 1,800 people were drowned, and that was the reason for our government to make this area safer. They announced a plan that was known as the Delta Project. We are here at the last stage, and this last stage is the Oosterschelde barrier. It took about 10 years to construct, and it costed about five and a half billion guilders, which approximately will mean two and a half American billion dollars.