St. Elizabeth’s Flood
At first glance, this may not seem all that bad, but populations have to be accounted for. It is estimated that the population of the Netherlands was under 2 million around the time of these events. That means 10,000 people back then represent the equivalent proportion of of 1.6 million Americans now.
Hello, and welcome to On This Date, Some Years Back. Today is November 18, 2017, and on this date, 596 years back, in 1421, a devastating flood ravaged the Netherlands and Belgium. It became known as St. Elizabeth’s Flood, as it happened on her Feast Day.
The flood was caused by a dramatic storm surge that broke several dykes. Given the Netherlands’ geography, this led to widespread flooding that had a lasting impact over many decades. Dykes had to be rebuilt, and land reclaimed from the floodwaters. More immediate, though, was the fact that several villages were completely destroyed and anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 lives were lost. This death count puts this flood at number 20 on the all time list of worst floods.
Coincidentally, this wasn’t the first St. Elizabeth’s Flood. Seventeen years earlier to the day, in 1404, there was another catastrophic flood in the same area. And before that, in 1375, there was yet another damaging flood (but not on St. Elizabeth’s feast day). These three floods forced the Dutch to build and rebuild their dykes and villages on an almost generational basis. Looking at the bright side of such devastation, it can be said that the Dutch learned how to engineer and improve their seawalls and dykes, and create polders better than any other society through these tribulations.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back tomorrow for an ugly scene from modern American sports.
Creating quality content on a daily schedule requires a massive commitment, and my desire is to not only do that, but expand into even more mediums (audio podcasts, web videos, etc.). If you enjoy these posts, or would like for them to be available in other formats, please consider supporting me on Patreon. Just $1 a month will help a ton, as well as get you access to exclusive content. Thanks.
