The water is coming

Could the Watersnoodramp have been preventable? In the aftermath of World War II, Walcheren is flooded to drive out the Germans and liberate Zeeland. The Braakman, an estuary of the Westerschelde, is closed in 1952 and all of Zeeland runs for it. In between all this, hydraulic engineer and employee of the Department of Public Works Johan van Veen writes the first Delta Plan: well before the disaster, he warns that the dykes may break. But his words are ignored. Interviews with a daughter and a grandson of Van Veen and numerous documents show that Van Veen does not tire of warning. But it all leads to nothing. "They thought he was a drammer," he says. His plans are implemented only after the disaster.

"You have to move on." For years, that has been the motto in Zeeland and the other hard-hit areas of the Netherlands. There is little or no talk about the Flood Disaster. In this respect, there is a parallel with other major traumatic events in the ^20th century, such as the Second World War. The idea is: put it away and it disappears. But it doesn't. It is only after 40 years, after the first national commemoration is organised from The Hague, that traumas slowly become discussable. Eyewitnesses recount their trauma experience - or lack thereof - and the so-called 'storm neurosis'.

What have we learned from the Watersnoodramp and is that enough to keep the Netherlands dry? The final episode focuses on the discussion on the Delta Works, the fight against water, climate change, but also on opening up Zeeland, the growth of tourism in the province and the story of the Biesbosch. The consequences of the Flood Disaster, positive and negative, are discussed in this final episode.