1. completely redrawing the map of the
country
on january the 1st 1986 a new province
was born
called flevoland
the new land was formed by merging two
existing polders
with an area of 25 000 square kilometers
it's the largest polder in the world and
the biggest dewatering project ever
undertaken
[Music]
since the middle ages the dutch have
reclaimed an area of 220 000 hectares
from the sea
but the conquest has not been without
consequences one-third of the country is
below sea level
and 60 of the population lives in
flood-prone areas
[Music]
in 1953 a devastating storm forever
changed the face of the country
on february the 1st a very high tide
coupled with the depression
and roaring 150 kilometer an hour winds
rose up against the north sea dikes with
phenomenal force
in the middle of the night in the south
of the country 89 barriers gave way
allowing four and a half meters of
glacial water into an area of 200 000
hectares
the result was devastating forty seven
thousand buildings were destroyed
tens of thousands of animals drowned and
most tragically of all
one thousand eight hundred thirty five
people died
as a result of this unprecedented
disaster the netherlands set about the
largest civil engineering project ever
undertaken
the delta plan
over a period of 30 years the project
aimed to build the most powerful
ramparts ever imagined
dikes and indestructible dams to lock
out almost every arm of the sea
and river estuary in the south of the
territory
near rotterdam stands the keystone of
the delta plan
the eastern shelt storm surge barrier
completed after an extremely complex
10-year construction project
this innovative barrier is several
kilometers long
dozens of 42 meter wide five meter thick
steel gates allow the strong currents of
the north sea to pass through
or repel them when the elements go wild
![completely redrawing the map of the
country
on january the 1st 1986 a new province
was born
called flevoland
the new land was formed by merging two
existing polders
with an area of 25 000 square kilometers
it's the largest polder in the world and
the biggest dewatering project ever
undertaken
[Music]
since the middle ages the dutch have
reclaimed an area of 220 000 hectares
from the sea
but the conquest has not been without
consequences one-third of the country is
below sea level
and 60 of the population lives in
flood-prone areas
[Music]
in 1953 a devastating storm forever
changed the face of the country
on february the 1st a very high tide
coupled with the depression
and roaring 150 kilometer an hour winds
rose up against the north sea dikes with
phenomenal force
in the middle of the night in the south
of the country 89 barriers gave way
allowing four and a half meters of
glacial water into an area of 200 000
hectares
the result was devastating forty seven
thousand buildings were destroyed
tens of thousands of animals drowned and
most tragically of all
one thousand eight hundred thirty five
people died
as a result of this unprecedented
disaster the netherlands set about the
largest civil engineering project ever
undertaken
the delta plan
over a period of 30 years the project
aimed to build the most powerful
ramparts ever imagined
dikes and indestructible dams to lock
out almost every arm of the sea
and river estuary in the south of the
territory
near rotterdam stands the keystone of
the delta plan
the eastern shelt storm surge barrier
completed after an extremely complex
10-year construction project
this innovative barrier is several
kilometers long
dozens of 42 meter wide five meter thick
steel gates allow the strong currents of
the north sea to pass through
or repel them when the elements go wild](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/13-210918164922/85/13-1-320.jpg)
