State of the Art in Storm-Surge Protection: The Netherlands Delta Project

A multi-billion dollar complex of coastal construction protects the delta-estuarine region
of the south-west Netherlands from a repeat of the 1953storm-surge flooding that killed
1835.Eight documented storm-surge flood disasters date back to 1717.The Delta Project
became effective in terms of flood protection in 1986, but sections of it are still under
construction. One of the world's greatest civil-engineering projects, its 11 major and
multiple secondary components have the function of (1) closing off three main estuaries
which shorten the coastline by approximately 720 km, (2) creating a non-tidal waterway,
the ScheIdt-Rhine link, which facilitates inland shipping between Antwerp and Rotterdam
(120 km), two of the largest ports in the world, and (3) ensuring the partial
environmental preservation of the Delta area.