SIGMAPLAN ~ Tielrode Trousers

On January 31, 1953, disaster struck in the Netherlands and Belgium. That night, no fewer than 1836 Dutch and 18 Flemings lost their lives during a devastating storm. For our northern neighbours, it was the reason for the Delta Plan. A few years ago, a film crew descended on Tielrodebroek to immortalize the atmosphere of that disaster in the film 'The Storm'. But in our country, too, consideration was given to better flood protection. The flood of 1976 was the reason for the development of the Sigma Plan. To prevent such disasters, the federal government launched an ambitious plan – with the S for Scheldt and by analogy with the Dutch Delta Plan.

Now it is a controlled flood area, which means that the lowered dike ensures that the Broek is flooded first of all during high water levels. This sometimes resulted in a spectacular image at spring tide. Many waterfowl, such as ducks and grey herons, make their home here.

In 1976, the umpteenth flood disaster took place here. This gave rise to the implementation of the Sigma Plan: the raising and strengthening of the dikes, the construction of 13 pot polders and a storm surge barrier in Oosterweel. For example, Tielrode Broek, which was already diked in 1264, was transformed into a 97-hectare pot polder, surrounded by a dike at Sigma height (8 m), so that the Scheldt water can flow into the pot polder during storm surges.

LIFE SPARC