Showing papers by "C.J. van Westen published in 1993"

Ecological Impacts During the Completion of the Eastern Scheldt Project

Abstract: The storm flood of February 1953 caused large areas of land to be inundated. Nearly 2000 people and innumerable cattle were killed. This disaster motivated a speed-up of the planned reduction of the length of the Dutch coastline. The “Delta Plan”, in force as law since 1958, recommended that five of the seven estuaries in the southwest Netherlands should be closed off by dams between the islands, with additional barriers being built on the landward side where necessary, and that the sea defences along the Dutch coast should be strengthened. The smaller areas would be closed off first, so that the larger enterprises could benefit from the experience gained from constructing the smaller dams.