In the night of 31 January and 1 February 1953 an important event took place in Nieuwerkerk a/d IJssel. The radio warned for a storm wit hurricane strength.
The water stood exactly under the vertex of the Groenedijk. The waves were attacking the dike. Nobody realised at that moment that a terrible disaster was going on in the polders of Zuid Holland and Zeeland. On that night of 31 January the people of Nieuwerkerk were partying and went to a dance event. On that dance event some people faced the mayor with the storm and the high water in the river Ijssel, that was directly connected to the sea. They kept everybody in the dancing room. This proved be later to be good thing, as soon after turned out that the official dike army was not able to reinforce the dike. Out of the guests the mayor recruited his own dike army and people for the catering. Fortunately among the guests there was also a captain with his wife and daughter. All of a sudden a message came that the dike started to break. The mayor ordered the captain (Arie Evegroen) to navigate his ship into the widening hole. And so he did. Although his ship was damaged heavily, he came out himself well. With the help of the dike armies the dike could be repaired and millions of Dutchmen living in the polders of Zuid Holland were safe. So this meeting appeared later on to become the rescue for many many South-Dutchmen. I think these people did a great job and that Arie Evegroen was a real hero! I also want to say that I like to write for this blog! Jamie van der Steen, T2A
The water stood exactly under the vertex of the Groenedijk. The waves were attacking the dike. Nobody realised at that moment that a terrible disaster was going on in the polders of Zuid Holland and Zeeland. On that night of 31 January the people of Nieuwerkerk were partying and went to a dance event. On that dance event some people faced the mayor with the storm and the high water in the river Ijssel, that was directly connected to the sea. They kept everybody in the dancing room. This proved be later to be good thing, as soon after turned out that the official dike army was not able to reinforce the dike. Out of the guests the mayor recruited his own dike army and people for the catering. Fortunately among the guests there was also a captain with his wife and daughter. All of a sudden a message came that the dike started to break. The mayor ordered the captain (Arie Evegroen) to navigate his ship into the widening hole. And so he did. Although his ship was damaged heavily, he came out himself well. With the help of the dike armies the dike could be repaired and millions of Dutchmen living in the polders of Zuid Holland were safe. So this meeting appeared later on to become the rescue for many many South-Dutchmen. I think these people did a great job and that Arie Evegroen was a real hero! I also want to say that I like to write for this blog! Jamie van der Steen, T2A
1 comment:
Dear Jamie and friends,
Thank you so much for the detailed information about Arie Avegroen, the sea captain who was called to take his boat and plug the broken dyke on Feb. 1, 1953. I would have loved to meet him: I am actually a survivor of that storm as well, as my family left Sweden on 1/31/1953 on the MS Gripsholm in order to immigrate to the USA. We stopped briefly in Bremerhaven that night to take on passengers - but were brought out of harbor by the captain, so that we were bouncing around on those high seas on the night of Feb.1, 1953, when all those levees broke in Holland. It took us 11 days and nights - all Totally Stormy, and 3 days longer than it should - to get across to Halifax, then New York where we made harbor on 2/11/1953. We started by train across the US on 2/12/1953 - exactly 54 years before you posted this blog! It wasn't until Hurricane Katrina hit the US on in Aug. 2005 that I heard that That storm, 'our' storm, was also a Category 5 hurricane - and had been nicknamed 'The 500-year flood' - so there I was, a Cat. 5 survivor, 52 years later!:) Which was why I got in my car, drove to Louisiana to help out: as far as I know, I was the Only one of my particular kind!
Anyhow, thank you all so very much! I'm now retired after working as a Public Health Nurse for 40 years. I live in Oregon, which looks and feels a whole lot like Sweden, my Home Sweet Home. One of these days, I thought I might like to share some of this story - which was why I hoped to perhaps meet Captain Evegroen. But that's OK: perhaps one of you will be the one that I'll meet instead!:) Much love, a big hug, and Huge thanks! (I was 10 when we came - will turn 66 on 11/19 - was born 11/19/1942 - but still young at heart:) -
Thanks again - tusen tack!
birgitta ericsson
birgfish@yahoo.com
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