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Zeeland, The Netherlands, lies largely below sea level and therefore had to fight for centuries against the water.

The flood disaster of 1953, in which 1,835 people drowned, is a very sad example of what could and had happened.

It resulted in the Delta Works.

Before this disaster, some weak spots along the North Sea coast already were strengthened, such as near the villages of Westkapelle and Zoutelande. The sand dunes near Zoutelande had become that low that it was irresponsible not to do anything about it: the sand dunes there were replaced in 1953 by a solid, man-made, sea wall or sea embankment.

This picture clearly shows where the dunes were replaced by the sea wall or sea embankment.