Flood boards

As a result of the storm surge in the night of 14 to 15 January 1808, when the water flowed into the side streets of the Nieuwe Haven, the city council decided that flood boards with a height of 50 cm had to be purchased. Before, there had never been a need for this. Later, in 1825, these were raised by another 20 cm to 70 cm. These flood boards were not only used to close off the side streets, but they were also placed in front of the doors and windows. On the sides of the streets, one can still see the trenches, in which the beams were placed. The cracks were closed with a special type of clay from the salt marshes of the Stelletje.

At the corners of the streets, bricked-in bins always had to be a supply of this clay. If the amount was not sufficient, the crevices were further lubricated with margarine. Every side street of the Old and New Harbour had a foreman, who was warned by the municipality in case of imminent danger. He then had to alert his security team to protect his street area. Every year, the city inspected whether the flood boards and associated items met the requirements. After the disaster of 1953, a floodgate was installed in the Harbour Canal, which started functioning in 1959. This is closed when high tide threatens. The risk of flooding for the city has thus been averted.

Wim Blankers