ALTERNATIVE TEXT FOR DUTCH NEWSPAPERS

Should the tides coincide with high winds from the north, not uncommon at the time of the vernal equinox, there is a risk of flooding in the Netherlands and in south-east England.  

Flooding is most likely to occur when a deep Atlantic depression creates a surge of water which is then forced down the wedge-shaped North Sea by storm winds. As it reaches the bottleneck in the south, all low-lying areas, notably the Thames estuary and the vast network of waterways in southern Holland, are susceptible to flooding. 
The devastating floods of 1953 killed 300 people along England’s East coast and more than 2,000 in the Netherlands. London came within just 7cm of disaster. The Thames barrier was finally opened in 1982 in an effort to ensure that the 116.5 sq km Thames flood plain, home to more than a million people and central to Britain’s economic well-being, was adequately protected from danger. Current forecasts suggest that water levels will remain half a metre below the top of London’s Thames barrier but precautions are in place should the barrier need to be raised.

Following the 1953 disaster, the Dutch constructed extensive flood defences along 60km of coastline. Much of this is in the form of solid dams, designed to resist the sort of flooding that occurs once on average every 4,000 years, but a flexible barrier, 9km wide, straddles the Oostersceldt. Normally open to maintain the salt water environment, the barrier is raised whenever tides reach three metres above mean sea level.