1.
Oude-Tonge
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Oude-Tonge is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee, and lies about 16 km south of Hellevoetsluis, in 2015, the town of Oude-Tonge had 5,500 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.9 km², the wider statistical district Oude-Tonge, which includes the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 5,500. Oude-Tonge was a municipality until 1966, when it became part of Oostflakkee. Last one has made part of the new municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee since 2013
2.
Goeree-Overflakkee
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Goeree-Overflakkee is the southernmost delta island of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of North Brabant by the Volkerak, since 2013, Goeree-Overflakke has also been a municipality, consisting from west to east of the former municipalities of Goedereede, Dirksland, Middelharnis, and Oostflakkee. The largest towns are Sommelsdijk, Middelharnis, Ouddorp, and Dirksland, despite being part of the province of South Holland, the islands scenery and dialect are more closely related to Zeeland than to Holland. On the island they speak a form of Zeelandic, namely Goereês in the west, the municipal council of Goeree-Overflakkee consists of 29 seats, which are divided as follows, The former municipality of Goedereede consisted of a number of places. From west to east, they were Ouddorp, Goedereede, income consists mainly of tourism and fishery. Because of the extended and beautiful beach close by, Ouddorp has a number of camping grounds which are a big attraction for other inland Europeans. Goedereede and Stellendam both have a fishing fleet. Entering the town of Goedereede is like entering a different time, a town that takes you back a few centuries with its beautifully shaped buildings and tall church tower. Goedereede is one of two towns on the island that ever obtained city rights, Stellendam was hit hard in the 1953 storm flood and several monuments in the town commemorate this tragic event. Next to Stellendam lies the Haringvlietdam which shelters the Haringvliet from the North Sea, on the islands side of the dam a Delta Expo can be found with informative tours that guide you through the dam. The former municipality of Dirksland consisted of Melissant, Herkingen, the 1953 flood did not have such an enormous effect on these places, because the lands they are on lay generally higher than the rest of the island. Dirksland was the biggest of the three and also has the hospital on the island. The Van Weel-Bethesda hospital is one of the smallest in the country, Dirksland is recognizable from a distance by the biggest water tower of the country. The towns are agriculturally focused and have several camping grounds for people who prefer a quiet locality in contrast to the busy Ouddorp area, Dirksland has an inland harbor with a newly restored gate complex. The Grevelingenmeer is a large area with the main recreational areas on Schouwen-Duiveland. Herkingen is trying to join in with the industry and has quite a large yachting harbor. The town of Herkingen currently hosts several of the biggest modern windmills in the country, the former municipality of Middelharnis, forming the center of the island, was the biggest of the four with over 17,000 inhabitants. It consisted of Sommelsdijk, Middelharnis, Nieuwe-Tonge, and Stad aan t Haringvliet, Middelharnis has a shopping area called Dn Diek
3.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
4.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
5.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
6.
Flood
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A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land which is usually dry. The European Union Floods Directive defines a flood as a covering by water of land not normally covered by water, in the sense of flowing water, the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow exceeds the capacity of the river channel. Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are in the flood plains of rivers. Some floods develop slowly, while others such as floods, can develop in just a few minutes. Additionally, floods can be local, impacting a neighborhood or community, or very large, the word flood comes from the Old English flod, a word common to Germanic languages. Deluge myths are stories of a great flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution. Floods can happen on flat or low-lying areas when water is supplied by rainfall or snowmelt more rapidly than it can infiltrate or run off. The excess accumulates in place, sometimes to hazardous depths, surface soil can become saturated, which effectively stops infiltration, where the water table is shallow, such as a floodplain, or from intense rain from one or a series of storms. Infiltration also is slow to negligible through frozen ground, rock, concrete, paving, areal flooding begins in flat areas like floodplains and in local depressions not connected to a stream channel, because the velocity of overland flow depends on the surface slope. Endorheic basins may experience flooding during periods when precipitation exceeds evaporation. Floods occur in all types of river and stream channels, from the smallest ephemeral streams in humid zones to normally-dry channels in arid climates to the worlds largest rivers. When overland flow occurs on tilled fields, it can result in a flood where sediments are picked up by run off. Localized flooding may be caused or exacerbated by drainage obstructions such as landslides, ice, debris, slow-rising floods most commonly occur in large rivers with large catchment areas. The increase in flow may be the result of sustained rainfall, rapid snow melt, monsoons, the cause may be localized convective precipitation or sudden release from an upstream impoundment created behind a dam, landslide, or glacier. In one instance, a flood killed eight people enjoying the water on a Sunday afternoon at a popular waterfall in a narrow canyon. Without any observed rainfall, the rate increased from about 50 to 1,500 cubic feet per second in just one minute. Two larger floods occurred at the site within a week
7.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
8.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
9.
Tide
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Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Some shorelines experience a semi-diurnal tide—two nearly equal high and low tides each day, other locations experience a diurnal tide—only one high and low tide each day. A mixed tide—two uneven tides a day, or one high, Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors. To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time, gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the level usually called mean sea level. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field varies in time. For example, the part of the Earth is affected by tides. Tide changes proceed via the following stages, Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone, the water rises to its highest level, reaching high tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone, the water stops falling, reaching low tide. Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams, the moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide. The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning, slack water usually occurs near high water and low water. But there are locations where the moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high, Tides are commonly semi-diurnal, or diurnal. The two high waters on a day are typically not the same height, these are the higher high water. Similarly, the two low waters each day are the low water and the lower low water. The daily inequality is not consistent and is small when the Moon is over the equator. From the highest level to the lowest, Highest Astronomical Tide – The highest tide which can be predicted to occur, note that meteorological conditions may add extra height to the HAT. Mean High Water Springs – The average of the two high tides on the days of spring tides, mean High Water Neaps – The average of the two high tides on the days of neap tides. Mean Sea Level – This is the sea level
10.
European windstorm
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European windstorm is a name given to the strongest extratropical cyclones which occur across the continent of Europe. They form as cyclonic windstorms associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure and they are most common in the autumn and winter months. On average, the month when most windstorms form is January, the seasonal average is 4.6 windstorms. However, when they track further south they can affect almost any country in Europe and these phenomena vary in terms of physical mechanisms, atmospheric structure, spatial extent, duration, severity level, predictability, and location relative to cyclone and fronts. On average these storms cause economic damage €1.9 billion per year and they rank as the second highest cause of global natural catastrophe insurance loss. Up to the half of the 19th century, European windstorms were named after the person who spotted them. Usually, they would be named either by the year, the date, however, a storm may still be named differently in different countries. 2011 storm Dagmar in Norway and Sweden is known as Patrick in Germany, an alternative Scottish naming system arose in 2011 via social media/Twitter which resulted in the humorous naming of Hurricane Bawbag and Hurricane Fannybaws. Such usage of the term Hurricane is not without precedent, as the 1968 Scotland storm was referred to as Hurricane Low Q, the UK Met Office and Irish forecasting service Met Éireann held discussions about developing a common naming system for Atlantic storms. An independent forecaster, the European Windstorm Centre, also has its own naming list, the university subsequently started to name every area of high or low pressure within its weather forecasts, from a list of 260 male and 260 female names submitted by its students. The female names were assigned to areas of low pressure while male names were assigned to areas of high pressure, the DWD subsequently banned the usage of the names by their offices during July 1991, after complaints had poured in about the naming system. However, the order was leaked to the German press agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germanys ZDF television channel subsequently ran a phone in poll on 17 July 1991 and claimed that 72% of the 40,000 responses favored keeping the names. This made the DWD pause and think about the naming system, during 1998 a debate started about if it was discrimination to name areas of high pressure with male names and the areas of low pressure with female names. The issue was resolved by alternating male and female names each year. The naming comes with the chance that the system will be notable. The money raised by this is used by the department to maintain weather observations at the Free University. Several European languages use cognates of the word huracán to indicate particularly strong winds occurring in Europe. The term hurricane as applied to these storms is not in reference to the structurally different tropical cyclone of the same name, in English, use of term hurricane to refer to European windstorms is mostly discouraged, as these storms do not display the structure of tropical storms
11.
North Sea
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The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and it is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of around 570,000 square kilometres. The North Sea has long been the site of important European shipping lanes as well as a major fishery, the North Sea was the centre of the Vikings rise. Subsequently, the Hanseatic League, the Netherlands, and the British each sought to dominate the North Sea and thus the access to the markets, as Germanys only outlet to the ocean, the North Sea continued to be strategically important through both World Wars. The coast of the North Sea presents a diversity of geological and geographical features, in the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the Norwegian and Scottish coastlines, whereas in the south it consists primarily of sandy beaches and wide mudflats. Due to the population, heavy industrialization, and intense use of the sea and area surrounding it. In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean, in the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands, and connects with the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres. Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos, including Shetland, Orkney, the North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles. A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea, the largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse watershed. Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas, for the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to a north of Bergen. It is between 20 and 30 kilometres wide and has a depth of 725 metres. The Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris and this feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea. The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with uniform depth in fathoms. These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate, the Devils Hole lies 200 miles east of Dundee, Scotland. The feature is a series of trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres long,1 and 2 kilometres wide and up to 230 metres deep. Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank, Fisher Bank, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows, On the Southwest
12.
Storm tides of the North Sea
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A storm tide is a tide with a high flood period caused by a storm. Storm tides can be a danger to the coast and the people living along the coast. The water level can rise to more than 5 metres above the normal tide, the North Sea, especially the Netherlands, northern Germany and Denmark is particularly susceptible to storm tides. The coastline of the German Bight forms an L-shape facing northwest, also vulnerable is the southern North Sea between England and the Netherlands, where the sea shallows and is funnelled between the land. For the protection of the areas along the coast, long. Storm tides are a regular occurrence in areas, usually. Most of them do not cause significant damage, the Danish coastline changed following the flood of 1825, the North Jutlandic Island got separated from the Jutland Peninsula. Major impact on Cinque Ports in England,1949, January 8, Storm disturbance in the North Sea. 1981, November 24–25, North Frisian Flood, severe surge with dike breaches in Denmark,1982, December 19, the largest negative surge recorded in the North Sea coincided with a high tide, water levels dropped rapidly posing a navigational hazard. 1993, February 21, a surge in the North Sea. 1999, December 3, Cyclone Anatol 2007, November 8–9, North Sea flood of 20072011, November 24–27, Cyclone Berit,2013, October 10, east coast of England surge, Environment Agency warning of minor flooding and disruption, tide passed without major flooding. ESurge Surge Event Database, North Sea Floods in the Netherlands Geography of Germany List of settlements lost to floods in the Netherlands Storm surge Munich Re Historical storm surge events
13.
Sea level
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Mean sea level is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earths oceans from which heights such as elevations may be measured. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a low and mean high tide at a particular location. Sea levels can be affected by factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales. The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer insights into ongoing climate change, the term above sea level generally refers to above mean sea level. Precise determination of a sea level is a difficult problem because of the many factors that affect sea level. Sea level varies quite a lot on several scales of time and this is because the sea is in constant motion, affected by the tides, wind, atmospheric pressure, local gravitational differences, temperature, salinity and so forth. The easiest way this may be calculated is by selecting a location and calculating the mean sea level at that point, for example, a period of 19 years of hourly level observations may be averaged and used to determine the mean sea level at some measurement point. One measures the values of MSL in respect to the land, hence a change in MSL can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates. In the UK, the Ordnance Datum is the sea level measured at Newlyn in Cornwall between 1915 and 1921. Prior to 1921, the datum was MSL at the Victoria Dock, in Hong Kong, mPD is a surveying term meaning metres above Principal Datum and refers to height of 1. 230m below the average sea level. In France, the Marégraphe in Marseilles measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and it is used for a part of continental Europe and main part of Africa as official sea level. Elsewhere in Europe vertical elevation references are made to the Amsterdam Peil elevation, satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission of NASA and CNES, TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001, height above mean sea level is the elevation or altitude of an object, relative to the average sea level datum. It is also used in aviation, where some heights are recorded and reported with respect to sea level, and in the atmospheric sciences. An alternative is to base height measurements on an ellipsoid of the entire Earth, in aviation, the ellipsoid known as World Geodetic System 84 is increasingly used to define heights, however, differences up to 100 metres exist between this ellipsoid height and mean tidal height. The alternative is to use a vertical datum such as NAVD88. When referring to geographic features such as mountains on a topographic map, the elevation of a mountain denotes the highest point or summit and is typically illustrated as a small circle on a topographic map with the AMSL height shown in metres, feet or both. In the rare case that a location is below sea level, for one such case, see Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
14.
Zeeland
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Zeeland is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and peninsulas and its area is about 2,930 square kilometres, of which almost 1,140 square kilometres is water, and it has a population of about 380,000. Large parts of Zeeland are below sea level, the last great flooding of the area was in 1953. Tourism is an important economic activity, in the summer, its beaches make it a popular destination for tourists, especially German tourists. In some areas, the population can be two to four times higher during the summer season. The coat of arms of Zeeland shows a lion half-emerged from water, the country of New Zealand is named after Zeeland - not Zealand in Denmark, as sometimes claimed. Nehalennia is a goddess of the ancient religion known around the province of Zeeland and her worship dates back at least to the 2nd century BC, and flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. She was possibly a goddess, either Celtic or pre-Germanic – sources differ on the culture that first worshipped her. During the Roman Era, her main function appeared to be the protection of travelers, most of what is known about her comes from the remains of over 160 carved stone offerings which have been dredged up from the Eastern Scheldt since 1970. Two more Nehalennia offering stones have also found in Cologne. Zeeland was an area between the counts of Holland and Flanders until 1299, when the last count of Holland died. Followed by the counts of Bavaria, Burgundy and Habsburg, after 1585 Zeeland followed, as one of the 7 independent provinces, the fate of the Northern part of The Netherlands. In 1432 it became part of the Low Countries possessions of Philip the Good of Burgundy, through marriage, the Seventeen Provinces became the property of the Habsburgs in 1477. In the Eighty Years War, Zeeland was on the side of the Union of Utrecht, the area now called Zeeuws-Vlaanderen was not part of Zeeland, but a part of the county of Flanders that was conquered by the United Provinces, hence called Staats-Vlaanderen. After the French occupation and the formation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, during World War II, Zeeland was occupied by Nazi Germany between June 1940 and November 1944. In 1944, Zeeland was devastated by the Battle of the Scheldt, the catastrophic North Sea flood of 1953, which killed over 1800 people in Zeeland, led to the construction of the protective Delta Works. The province of Zeeland is a river delta situated at the mouth of several major rivers, namely Scheldt, Rhine. Most of the province lies below sea level and was reclaimed from the sea by inhabitants over time, what used to be a muddy landscape, flooding at high tide and reappearing at low tide, became a series of small man-made hills that stayed dry at all times
15.
Counties of England
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Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical, cultural or political demarcation. For administrative purposes, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties and these counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several districts. As of April 2009,27 of these counties are divided into districts and have a county council, all of England is also divided into 48 ceremonial counties, which are also known as geographic counties. Most ceremonial counties correspond to a metropolitan or non-metropolitan county of the same name, the current arrangement is the result of incremental reform. Many of the counties have their origins in the Middle Ages, although the larger counties of Yorkshire, the geographic counties which existed before the local government reforms of 1965 and 1974 are referred to as ancient counties or historic counties. From 1889 to 1974 areas with county councils were known as administrative counties, from 1974 to 1996 the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, some of which were established only in 1974, corresponded directly with the ceremonial counties. For the purpose of sorting and delivering mail, England was divided into 48 postal counties until 1996, in these counties most services are provided by the county council and the district councils have a more limited role. Their areas each correspond exactly to ceremonial counties and they are Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire. In these counties the district councils provide the majority of services, similarly, Berkshire is a non-metropolitan county with no county council and multiple districts and maps directly to a ceremonial county. Bristol, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Northumberland and Rutland are ceremonial counties consisting of a county of a single district. In total, there are 39 unitary authorities that do not share the names of any of the ceremonial counties, bedfordshire and Cheshire are counties that consist of a number of unitary authorities, none of which has the same name as the ceremonial county. The City of London and Greater London are anomalous as ceremonial counties that do not correspond to any metropolitan or non-metropolitan counties, large ceremonial counties often correspond to a single police force. For example, the four unitary authorities which make up Cheshire correspond to the area as the Cheshire Constabulary. Some counties are grouped together for this purpose, such as Northumberland with Tyne, in other areas a group of unitary authorities in several counties are grouped together to form police force areas, such as the Cleveland Police and Humberside Police. Greater London and the City of London each have their own forces, the Metropolitan Police Service. The fire service is operated on a basis, and the ambulance service is organised by the regions of England. Most ceremonial counties form part of a region, although Lincolnshire. Economic development is delivered using the regions, as is strategic planning, as of 2009, the largest county by area is North Yorkshire and the smallest is the City of London
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Lincolnshire
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Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It also borders Northamptonshire in the south for just 20 yards, Englands shortest county boundary, the county town is Lincoln, where the county council has its headquarters. The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire is composed of the county of Lincolnshire. Therefore, part of the county is in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. The county is the second-largest of the English ceremonial counties and one that is predominantly agricultural in land use, the county is fifth largest of the two-tier counties, as the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are not included. The county can be broken down into a number of geographical sub-regions including, Lincolnshire derived from the merging of the territory of the ancient Kingdom of Lindsey with that controlled by the Danelaw borough of Stamford. For some time the county was called Lindsey, and it is recorded as such in the 11th-century Domesday Book. In 1888 when county councils were set up, Lindsey, Holland and these survived until 1974, when Holland, Kesteven, and most of Lindsey were unified into Lincolnshire. A local government reform in 1996 abolished Humberside, and the south of the Humber was allocated to the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire. These two areas became part of Lincolnshire for ceremonial such as the Lord-Lieutenancy, but are not covered by the Lincolnshire police and are in the Yorkshire. The remaining districts of Lincolnshire are Boston, East Lindsey, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven and they are part of the East Midlands region. Lincolnshire is home to Woolsthorpe Manor, birthplace and home of Sir Isaac Newton and he attended The Kings School, Grantham and its library has preserved his signature, applied to a window sill when he was a teenager. Lincolnshire is an area, growing large amounts of wheat, barley, sugar beet. In South Lincolnshire, where the soil is rich in nutrients, some of the most common crops include potatoes, cabbages, cauliflowers. Most such companies are long gone, and Lincolnshire is no longer an engineering centre, however, as a result of the current economic climate some food production facilities have closed down, this has caused some reduction in the levels of migrant workers. The large number of people from Portugal is still obvious in the town of Boston. A coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents currently controls Lincolnshire County Council, the Conservative Party comfortably controlled the County Council following the 2009 local elections, in which they increased their majority to 43 seats. The Labour Party lost a total of 15 seats including 7 in Lincoln, the Lincolnshire Independents gained a total of four seats, although one of their number moved to the Conservative group during 2010, increasing the number of Conservative seats to 61
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Norfolk
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Norfolk /ˈnɔːrfək/ is a county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the west and north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea and, to the north-west, The Wash. With an area of 2,074 square miles and a population of 859,400, of the countys population, 40% live in four major built up areas, Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn and Thetford. The Broads is a network of rivers and lakes in the east of the county, the area is not a National Park although it is marketed as such. It has similar status to a park, and is protected by the Broads Authority. Norfolk was settled in times, with camps along the higher land in the west. A Brythonic tribe, the Iceni, inhabited the county from the 1st century BC to the end of the 1st century AD, the Iceni revolted against the Roman invasion in AD47, and again in 60 led by Boudica. The crushing of the second opened the county to the Romans. During the Roman era roads and ports were constructed throughout the county, situated on the east coast, Norfolk was vulnerable to invasions from Scandinavia and Northern Europe, and forts were built to defend against the Angles and Saxons. Norfolk, Suffolk and several adjacent areas became the kingdom of East Anglia, the influence of the Early English settlers can be seen in the many place names ending in -ton and -ham. Endings such as -by and -thorpe are also common, indicating Danish place names, in the 9th century the region came under attack. In the centuries before the Norman Conquest the wetlands of the east of the county began to be converted to farmland, and settlements grew in these areas. Migration into East Anglia must have high, by the time of the Domesday Book survey it was one of the most densely populated parts of the British Isles. During the high and late Middle Ages the county developed arable agriculture, the economy was in decline by the time of the Black Death, which dramatically reduced the population in 1349. During the English Civil War Norfolk was largely Parliamentarian, the economy and agriculture of the region declined somewhat. During the Industrial Revolution Norfolk developed little industry except in Norwich which was an addition to the railway network. In the 20th century the county developed a role in aviation, during the Second World War agriculture rapidly intensified, and it has remained very intensive since, with the establishment of large fields for growing cereals and oilseed rape. Norfolks low-lying land and easily eroded cliffs, many of which are chalk and clay, make it vulnerable to the sea, the low-lying section of coast between Kelling and Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk is currently managed by the Environment Agency to protect the Broads from sea flooding
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Suffolk
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Suffolk is an East Anglian county of historic origin in England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west, the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich, other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket and Felixstowe, the county is low-lying with very few hills, and is largely arable land with the wetlands of the Broads in the north. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, by the fifth century, the Angles had established control of the region. The Angles later became the folk and the south folk. Suffolk and several adjacent areas became the kingdom of East Anglia, Suffolk was originally divided into four separate Quarter Sessions divisions. In 1860, the number of divisions was reduced to two, the eastern division was administered from Ipswich and the western from Bury St Edmunds. Under the Local Government Act 1888, the two divisions were made the administrative counties of East Suffolk and West Suffolk, Ipswich became a county borough. A few Essex parishes were added to Suffolk, Ballingdon-with-Brundon and parts of Haverhill. On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, East Suffolk, West Suffolk, the county was divided into several local government districts, Babergh, Forest Heath, Ipswich, Mid Suffolk, St. Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal, and Waveney. This act also transferred some land near Great Yarmouth to Norfolk, in 2007, the Department for Communities and Local Government referred Ipswich Borough Councils bid to become a new unitary authority to the Boundary Committee. The Boundary Committee consulted local bodies and reported in favour of the proposal and it was not, however, approved by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Beginning in February 2008, the Boundary Committee again reviewed local government in the county, West Suffolk, like nearby East Cambridgeshire, is renowned for archaeological finds from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. Bronze Age artefacts have been found in the area between Mildenhall and West Row, in Eriswell and in Lakenheath, other finds include traces of cremations and barrows. The majority of agriculture in Suffolk is either arable or mixed, Farm sizes vary from anything around 80 acres to over 8,000. Soil types vary from clays to light sands. The continuing importance of agriculture in the county is reflected in the Suffolk Show, although latterly somewhat changed in nature, this remains primarily an agricultural show. Below is a chart of regional gross value added of Suffolk at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling, well-known companies in Suffolk include Greene King and Branston Pickle in Bury St Edmunds
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Essex
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Essex /ˈɛsᵻks/ is a county in England immediately north-east of London. It borders the counties of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, the county town is Chelmsford, which is the only city in the county. Essex occupies the part of the old Kingdom of Essex, before this. As well as areas, the county also includes London Stansted Airport, the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, Lakeside Shopping Centre, the port of Tilbury. Originally recorded in AD527, Essex occupied territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating all of what later became Middlesex and its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lea. In changes before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England and, following the Norman conquest, Essex became a county. During the medieval period, much of the area was designated a Royal forest, including the county in a period to 1204. Gradually, the subject to forest law diminished, but at various times included the forests of Becontree, Chelmsford, Epping, Hatfield, Ongar. County-wide administration Essex County Council was formed in 1889, however County Boroughs of West Ham, Southend-on-Sea and East Ham formed part of the county but were unitary authorities. 12 boroughs and districts provide more localised services such as rubbish and recycling collections, leisure and planning, parish-level administration – changes A few Essex parishes have been transferred to other counties. Before 1889, small areas were transferred to Hertfordshire near Bishops Stortford, Essex became part of the East of England Government Office Region in 1994 and was statistically counted as part of that region from 1999, having previously been part of the South East England region. Two unitary authorities In 1998 the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were granted autonomy from the county of Essex after successful requests to become unitary authorities. Essex Police covers the county and the two unitary authorities. The county council chamber and main headquarters is at the County Hall in Chelmsford, before 1938 the council regularly met in London near Moorgate, which with significant parts closer to that point and the dominance of railways had been more convenient than any place in the county. It currently has 75 elected councillors, before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, the pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. Epping Forest also acts as a barrier to the further spread of London. Part of the southeast of the county, already containing the population centres of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway
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West Flanders
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West Flanders is the most western province of the Flemish Region, also named Flanders, in Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands, the Flemish province of East Flanders and the Walloon province of Hainaut in Belgium, on France, other important cities are Kortrijk in the south and Ostend on the coast, Roeselare and Ypres. The province has an area of 3,125 km² which is divided into eight administrative districts containing 64 municipalities, the North Sea coast of Belgium, an important tourism destination, lies in West Flanders. A tram line runs the length of the coast, from De Panne on the French border to Knokke-Heist on the Dutch border, West Flanders consists of the North Sea coast, followed by a very flat polder landscape. Only in the south are some hills, with the Kemmelberg being the highest point in the province. The Leie and IJzer are the main rivers, West Flanders is the only Belgian province that borders both France and The Netherlands. In the north of the province, most industry is concentrated in and around the cities of Bruges, both cities also have important seaports, the port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and the port of Ostend. The south is known for its industry, with companies such as Beaulieu. The region around Kortrijk is called the Dallas of Belgium for its entrepreneurship, tourism is also an important industry in West Flanders. Major touristic attractions include the Belgian coast, the center of Bruges, and Flanders Fields. The region has a distinct dialect of Dutch called West Flemish. This distinctive dialect is a part of the sense of identity of the inhabitants of the region. The city of Bruges has one playing at the highest level of football in Belgium. With Cercle Brugge it also has one playing in the Belgian First Division B. Other cities with teams playing at the highest level are Kortrijk, Ostend, the teams Knack Randstad Roeselare and Prefaxis Menen play in the highest volleyball league. Knack Randstad Roeselare also plays in the CEV Champions League, the European Championsleague, BC Oostende is a basketball team which plays in the major basketball league of Belgium. The Province of West Flanders is divided into 4 judicial arrondissements, municipalities that have city status have a behind their name. Official website of the Province of West Flanders
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Northern Europe
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Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. However, narrower definitions may also be used based on geographical factors, such as climate. Greenland, geographically a part of North America, is politically a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, while Northern Europe overlaps with most of Northwestern Europe, north-Central Europe, and Northeastern Europe, it does not border Southern Europe. Countries which are central-western, central-central, or central-eastern are generally considered part of neither Northern Europe or Southern Europe. Historically, when Europe was dominated by the Mediterranean region, everything not near this sea was termed Northern Europe, including southern Germany, all of the Low Countries and this meaning is still used today in some contexts, such as in discussions of the Northern Renaissance. In medieval times, the term Thule was used to mean a place in the extreme northern reaches of the continent. The region has a south west extreme of around 50 degrees north, the entire regions climate is mildly affected by the Gulf Stream. From the west climates vary from maritime and maritime subarctic climates, in the north and central climates are generally subarctic or Arctic and to the east climates are mostly subarctic and temperate/continental. With the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland, Northern European countries are known for harsh winters with temperatures reaching as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius in some parts. Countries in Northern Europe have large, developed economies and some of the highest standards of living in the world and they often score highly on surveys measuring quality of life, such as the Human Development Index
22.
MV Princess Victoria
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MV Princess Victoria was one of the earliest roll-on/roll-off ferries. Built in 1947, she operated from Stranraer to Larne, during a severe European windstorm on 31 January 1953, she sank in the North Channel with the loss of 133 lives. This was then the deadliest maritime disaster in United Kingdom waters since World War II, Princess Victoria was built in 1947 by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton. Although being innovative in her methods, the vessel looked externally similar to her namesake. She could hold 1,500 passengers plus cargo and had sleeping accommodation for 54, Princess Victoria was initially employed by London, Midland & Scottish Railway and then by its successor British Railways, on the crossing from Stranraer in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland. Captained by the 55-year-old James Ferguson, the vessel left Stranraers railway loading pier at 07,45 AM with 44 tons of cargo,128 passengers and 51 crew, Captain Ferguson had served as master on various ferries on the same route for 17 years. A gale warning was in force but he made the decision to put to sea, Loch Ryan is a sheltered inlet and the immediate force of the wind and sea was not apparent, but it was noted that spray was breaking over the stern doors. A guillotine door had been fitted, because of an identified problem with spray and waves hitting the stern doors. This would have provided protection for the sliding stern doors. On this occasion it was not lowered, shortly after clearing the mouth of Loch Ryan, the ship turned west towards Larne and exposed her stern to the worst of the high seas. Huge waves damaged the low stern doors, allowing water to enter the car deck, the crew struggled to close the doors again but they proved to be too badly damaged and water continued to flood in from the waves. The scuppers did not seem to be allowing the water to drain away, the ship took a list to starboard and at this point Captain Ferguson decided to retreat to the safety of Loch Ryan by going astern and using the bow rudder. At 09,46 AM, two hours after leaving Stranraer a message was transmitted in Morse code by radio operator David Broadfoot to the Portpatrick Radio Station, with a list to starboard exacerbated by shifting cargo, water continued to enter the ship. At 10,32 AM an SOS transmission was made, possibly the first warship in the area was HMS Launceston Castle, commanded by Lt. Cdr J M Cowling, a frigate which was en route to Derry. Searches were carried out but Launceston Castle was forced to leave when her condensers were contaminated by salt, upon the upgrade of the assistance message to an SOS, the Portpatrick Lifeboat the Jeannie Spiers was dispatched, as was the destroyer HMS Contest. Contest, commanded by Lt Commander HP Fleming, left Rothesay at 1109hrs but, although she came close to her position at 1330hrs, poor visibility prevented the crew from seeing the sinking ship. The destroyer had been trying to maintain a speed of 31 knots to reach the ferry but, after sustaining damage from the seas. At 1308hrs, the ship broadcast that her engines had stopped, the final morse code message at 1358hrs reported the ship on her beam end 5 miles east of the Copeland Islands
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North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)
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The North Channel is the strait between north-eastern Ireland and south-western Scotland. The southern boundary of the strait is a line joining the Mull of Galloway, the northern boundary is a line joining Portnahaven and Benbane Head. The narrowest part of the strait is between the Mull of Kintyre and Torr Head where its width is 21 kilometres, the deepest part is called Beauforts Dyke. It is crossed by a number of ferry services. In 1953, it was the scene of a maritime disaster. In August 2007 the Centre for Cross-Border Studies proposed the construction of a 34-kilometre long rail bridge or tunnel, in the Victorian era, engineers proposed a rail tunnel between Stranraer and Belfast. This strait was known as the Irish Channel. In the 19th century, Alexander Keith Johnstons suggested name St Patricks Channel had currency, according to the ILDSA, this was first accomplished in 1947 by Tom Blower. The first two-way crossing was completed by a relay team on 28 July 2015. Straits of Moyle St Georges Channel
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Belfast
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Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, the second largest on the island of Ireland, and the heart of the tenth largest Primary Urban Area in the United Kingdom. On the River Lagan, it had a population of 286,000 at the 2011 census and 333,871 after the 2015 council reform, Belfast was granted city status in 1888. Belfast played a key role in the Industrial Revolution, and was an industrial centre until the latter half of the 20th century. It has sustained a major aerospace and missiles industry since the mid 1930s, industrialisation and the inward migration it brought made Belfast Irelands biggest city at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, Belfast remains a centre for industry, as well as the arts, higher education, business, and law, additionally, Belfast city centre has undergone considerable expansion and regeneration in recent years, notably around Victoria Square. Belfast is served by two airports, George Best Belfast City Airport in the city, and Belfast International Airport 15 miles west of the city. Although the county borough of Belfast was created when it was granted city status by Queen Victoria in 1888, the site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giants Ring, a 5, 000-year-old henge, is located near the city, Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages. The ONeill clan had a presence in the area, in the 14th century, Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, descendants of Aodh Buidhe ONeill built Grey Castle at Castlereagh, now in the east of the city. Conn ONeill of the Clannaboy ONeills owned vast lands in the area and was the last inhabitant of Grey Castle, evidence of this period of Belfasts growth can still be seen in the oldest areas of the city, known as the Entries. Belfast blossomed as a commercial and industrial centre in the 18th and 19th centuries, industries thrived, including linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering and shipbuilding, and at the end of the 19th century, Belfast briefly overtook Dublin as the largest city in Ireland. The Harland and Wolff shipyards became one of the largest shipbuilders in the world, in 1886 the city suffered intense riots over the issue of home rule, which had divided the city. In 1920–22, Belfast became the capital of the new entity of Northern Ireland as the island of Ireland was partitioned, the accompanying conflict cost up to 500 lives in Belfast, the bloodiest sectarian strife in the city until the Troubles of the late 1960s onwards. Belfast was heavily bombed during World War II, in one raid, in 1941, German bombers killed around one thousand people and left tens of thousands homeless. Apart from London, this was the greatest loss of life in a raid during the Blitz. Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and it had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Catholic and Protestant populations. These opposing groups in conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively. The most recent example of conflict was known as the Troubles – a civil conflict that raged from around 1969 to 1998
25.
Fishing trawler
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A fishing trawler, also known as a dragger, is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets that are pulled along the bottom of the sea or in midwater at a specified depth, a trawler may also operate two or more trawl nets simultaneously. There are many variants of trawling gear and they vary according to local traditions, bottom conditions, and how large and powerful the trawling boats are. A trawling boat can be an open boat with only 30 horsepower or a large factory ship with 10,000 horsepower. Trawl variants include beam trawls, large-opening midwater trawls, and large bottom trawls, during the 17th century, the British developed the Dogger, an early type of sailing trawler commonly operated in the North Sea. The Dogger takes its name from the Dutch word dogger, meaning a vessel which tows a trawl. Doggers were slow but sturdy, capable of fishing in the conditions of the North Sea. The modern fishing trawler was developed in the 19th century, at the English fishing port of Brixham. The Brixham trawler that evolved there was of a build and had a tall gaff rig. They were also sufficiently robust to be able to tow large trawls in deep water, the great trawling fleet that built up at Brixham, earned the village the title of Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries. The small village of Grimsby grew to become the largest fishing port in the world by the mid 19th century, with the tremendous expansion in the fishing industry, the Grimsby Dock Company was opened in 1854 as the first modern fishing port. The elegant Brixham trawler spread across the world, influencing fishing fleets everywhere, by the end of the 19th century, there were over 3,000 fishing trawlers in commission in Britain, with almost 1,000 at Grimsby. These trawlers were sold to fishermen around Europe, including from the Netherlands, twelve trawlers went on to form the nucleus of the German fishing fleet. The earliest steam powered fishing boats first appeared in the 1870s and used the system of fishing as well as lines. These were large boats, usually 80–90 feet in length with a beam of around 20 feet and they weighed 40–50 tons and travelled at 9–11 knots. The earliest purpose built fishing vessels were designed and made by David Allan in Leith in March 1875, in 1877, he built the first screw propelled steam trawler in the world. She was of construction with two masts and carried a gaff rigged main and mizen using booms, and a single foresail
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Delta Works
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The Delta Works is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea. The works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dykes, levees, the aim of the dams, sluices, and storm surge barriers was to shorten the Dutch coastline, thus reducing the number of dikes that had to be raised. Along with the Zuiderzee Works, Delta Works have been declared one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the estuaries of the rivers Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt have been subject to flooding over the centuries. After building the Afsluitdijk, the Dutch started studying the damming of the Rhine-Meuse Delta, plans were developed to shorten the coastline and turn the delta into a group of freshwater lakes. By shortening the coastline, fewer dikes would have to be reinforced, due to indecision and the Second World War, little action was taken. In 1950 two small mouths, the Brielse Gat near Brielle and the Botlek near Vlaardingen were dammed. After the North Sea flood of 1953, a Delta Works Commission was installed to research the causes and they revised some of the old plans and came up with the Deltaplan. The plan consisted of blocking the mouths of the Oosterschelde, the Haringvliet. This reduced the length of the dikes exposed to the sea by 700 kilometres, the mouths of the Nieuwe Waterweg and the Westerschelde were to remain open because of the important shipping routes to the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. The dikes along these waterways were to be heightened and strengthened, the works would be combined with road and waterway infrastructure to stimulate the economy of the province of Zeeland and improve the connection between the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. An important part of project was fundamental research to help solve the flooding problem. Instead of analysing past floods and building protection sufficient to deal with those, the framework is called the Delta norm, it includes the following principles, Major areas to be protected from flooding are identified. These are called dike ring areas because they are protected by a ring of primary sea defences, the cost of flooding is assessed using a statistical model involving damage to property, lost production, and a given amount per human life lost. For the purpose of model, a human life is valued at €2.2 million. The chances of a significant flood within the area are calculated. This is done using data from a purpose-built flood simulation lab, as well as statistical data regarding water wave properties. Storm behaviour and spring tide distribution are also taken into account, the most important dike ring area is the South Holland coast region. It is home to four people, most of whom live below normal sea level
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Flood barrier
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A flood barrier, surge barrier or storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier. A surge barrier is almost always part of a flood protection system consisting of floodwalls, levees. Flood barrier may also refer to barriers placed around or at individual buildings to keep floodwaters from entering those buildings, the Delta Works in the Netherlands is the largest flood protection project in the world. This project consists of a number of barriers, the Oosterscheldekering being the largest surge barrier in the world,9 kilometres long. Other examples include the Maeslantkering, Haringvlietdam and the Hartelkering, the Thames Barrier is the worlds second largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by high tides. It needs to be raised only during high tide, at ebb tide it can be lowered to release the water backs up behind it. In 2007 the United States Army Corps of Engineers started construction of a project that aimed to prevent storm surges from flooding the city by 2011. The IHNC Lake Borgne Surge Barrier on the confluence of these waterways is the largest in the United States and it protects the city from the Gulf of Mexico from flooding the area. The new Seabrook floodgate prevents a storm surge from entering from Lake Ponchartrain, the GIWW West Closure Complex closes the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to protect the west side of the city. This complex is unique in that it contains the worlds largest pumping station, the Eider Barrage is located at the mouth of the river Eider near Tönning on Germany’s North Sea coast. Its main purpose is protection from storm surges by the North Seas and it is Germany’s largest coastal protection structure. The Saint Petersburg Dam is a 16 km barrier separating the Gulf of Finland from Neva Bay to protect the city of Saint Petersburg, the Soviet Union started construction of the barrier in 1978 and it was completed and made operational in 2011. The New Bedford Harbor Hurricane Barrier protects the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with an immovable barrier of stone. It has three land and one door for access in calm seas. The nearby Fox Point Hurricane Barrier protects the city of Providence, the US Army Corps of Engineers also owns and operates the hurricane barrier at Stamford, CT. The MOSE Project is intended to protect the city of Venice, Italy, the River Foss, York, UK has a barrier to control the inflow of fast moving water from the River Ouse that may overspill its banks upstream the Foss and flood surrounding properties. The New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier is a proposed flood barrier system that would protect the harbor
28.
River Thames
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The River Thames is a river that flows through southern England, most notably through London. At 215 miles, it is the longest river entirely in England and it also flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. It rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary, the Thames drains the whole of Greater London. Its tidal section, reaching up to Teddington Lock, includes most of its London stretch and has a rise, in Scotland, the Tay achieves more than double the average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs and its catchment area covers a large part of South Eastern and a small part of Western England and the river is fed by 38 named tributaries. The river contains over 80 islands, in 2010, the Thames won the largest environmental award in the world – the $350,000 International Riverprize. The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, Tamesas, recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys Thames. It has also suggested that it is not of Celtic origin. A place by the river, rather than the river itself, indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name Thames is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit. It is believed that Tamesubugus name was derived from that of the river, tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography. The rivers name has always pronounced with a simple t /t/, the Middle English spelling was typically Temese. A similar spelling from 1210, Tamisiam, is found in the Magna Carta, the Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis. Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as River Thames or Isis down to Dorchester, richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called *lowonida. An alternative, and simpler proposal, is that London may also be a Germanic word, for merchant seamen, the Thames has long been just the London River. Londoners often refer to it simply as the river in such as south of the river. Thames Valley Police is a body that takes its name from the river. The marks of human activity, in cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain, are visible at various points along the river
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River Hull
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The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the north of England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, following a period when the Archbishops of York charged tolls for its use, it became a free navigation. Most of its course is through low-lying land that is at or just above sea level, Drainage schemes to alleviate it were constructed on both sides of the river. The Holderness Drainage scheme to the east was completed in 1772, with a phase in 1805. Since 1980, the mouth of the river has been protected by a barrier at the estuary. Most of the bridges cross the river are movable, to allow shipping to pass. Scott Street Bridge, which is now permanently raised, was powered from a high pressure water main maintained by the first public power distribution company in the world. The source of the River Hull is in the Yorkshire Wolds and it rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, near the site of the medieval village of Elmswell. The Elmswell Beck flows eastwards from these, and is joined by the Little Driffield Beck and it continues as the Driffield Beck, flowing around the south-western edge of Driffield, where it is joined by the Driffield Trout Stream. After the junction, it becomes the River Hull or the West Beck and flows to the east, for much of the route below Driffield, the Driffield Navigation runs parallel to the river. The river from Corps Landing to its mouth is navigable, at Emmotland, it is joined by the Frodingham Beck, which is also navigable, and leads to the canal into Driffield, which forms the major part of the Driffield Navigation. Scurf Dyke joins from the west and is followed by Struncheon Hill lock, which marks the end of the Navigation, below here, the river is tidal. The tidal range of tides can be up to 7 feet in winter and 4 feet in summer, below the lock, the surrounding land is almost at sea level, and the river is constrained by flood banks on both sides. On its route southwards, the passes the former junction with Aike Beck, once navigable to Lockington Landing. The Leven Canal used to join on the east bank, just above Beverley Beck, which joins from the west, is Grovehill Bridge, now a lift bridge but once a ferry bridge. Once the river reaches the outskirts of Hull, its course is marked by a series of bridges, there are swing bridges, lift bridges and bascule bridges, and the river becomes part of the Port of Hull. The river, which is the line between West and East Hull, bisects the citys industrial area. The bridges can cause traffic delays during high tides, though traffic is less than it once was
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Humber Estuary
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The Humber /ˈhʌmbər/ is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse, from here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank and Lincolnshire on the south bank. Although the Humber is an estuary from the point at which it is formed, Ports on the Humber include the Port of Hull, Port of Grimsby, Port of Immingham, as well as lesser ports at New Holland and North Killingholme Haven. The estuary is navigable here for the largest of deep-sea vessels, inland connections for smaller craft are extensive but handle only one quarter of the goods traffic handled in the Thames. The Humber is now an estuary, when the world sea level was lower during the Ice Ages, the Humber had a long freshwater course across what was then the dry bed of the North Sea. In the Anglo-Saxon period, the Humber was a major boundary, the name Northumbria came from Anglo-Saxon Norðhymbre = the people north of the Humber. The Humber currently forms the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire, to the north and North and North East Lincolnshire, from 1974 to 1996, the areas now known as the East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire constituted the county of Humberside. On 23 August 1921, the British airship R38 crashed into the estuary near Hull, the estuarys only modern crossing is the Humber Bridge, which was once the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world. Now it is the eighth longest, before the bridge was built in 1981, a series of paddle steamers operated from the Corporation Pier railway station at the Victoria Pier in Hull to the railway pier in New Holland. Steam ferries started in 1841, and in 1848 were purchased by the Manchester, Sheffield and they, and their successors, ran the ferry until the bridge opened in 1981. Although the railway to New Holland closed in 1977, passenger, the line of the bridge is similar to an ancient ferry route from Hessle to Barton upon Humber, which is noted in the Domesday Book and in a charter of 1281. The ferry was recorded as operating in 1856, into the railway era. The Humber was then one mile across, the Humber Forts were built in the mouth of the river for the First World War. Planned in 1914, their construction started in 1915 and they were not completed until 1919, a coastal battery at Easington, Fort Goodwin or Kilnsea Battery, faced the Bull Sands Fort. They were also garrisoned during the Second World War, and were abandoned for military use in 1956. Fort Paull is further downstream, a Napoleonic-era emplacement replaced in the early 20th century by Stallinborough Battery opposite Sunk Island, graham Boanas, a Hull man, is believed to be the first man to succeed in wading across the Humber since ancient Roman times. The feat, in August 2005, was attempted to cash and awareness for the medical research charity. He started his trek on the bank at Brough, four hours later
31.
Dike (construction)
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A levee, dike, dyke, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines, the word levee, from the French word levée, is used in American English. It originated in New Orleans a few years after the founding in 1718 and was later adopted by English speakers. The name derives from the trait of the ridges being raised higher than both the channel and the surrounding floodplains. The modern word dike or dyke most likely derives from the Dutch word dijk, the 126 kilometres long Westfriese Omringdijk was completed by 1250, and was formed by connecting existing older dikes. The Roman chronicler Tacitus even mentions that the rebellious Batavi pierced dikes to flood their land, the word dijk originally indicated both the trench and the bank. It is closely related to the English verb to dig, in Anglo-Saxon, the word dic already existed and was pronounced as dick in northern England and as ditch in the south. Similar to Dutch, the English origins of the lie in digging a trench. This practice has meant that the name may be given to either the excavation or the bank, thus Offas Dyke is a combined structure and Car Dyke is a trench though it once had raised banks as well. In the midlands and north of England, and in the United States, a dike is what a ditch is in the south, a property boundary marker or small drainage channel. Where it carries a stream, it may be called a dike as in Rippingale Running Dike. The Weir Dike is a dike in Bourne North Fen, near Twenty and alongside the River Glen. In the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, a dyke may be a ditch or a narrow artificial channel off a river or broad for access or mooring, some longer dykes being named. In parts of Britain, particularly Scotland, a dyke may be a field wall, Levees can be mainly found along the sea, where dunes are not strong enough, along rivers for protection against high-floods, along lakes or along polders. Furthermore, levees have been built for the purpose of empoldering, the latter can be a controlled inundation by the military or a measure to prevent inundation of a larger area surrounded by levees. Levees have also built as field boundaries and as military defences. More on this type of levee can be found in the article on dry-stone walls, Levees can be permanent earthworks or emergency constructions built hastily in a flood emergency. When such a bank is added on top of an existing levee it is known as a cradge
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South Holland
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South Holland is a province in the midwestern Netherlands. It has a population of just over 3.6 million, situated on the North Sea in the west of the Netherlands, South Holland covers an area of 3,403 km2, of which 585 km2 is water. It borders North Holland to the north, Utrecht and Gelderland to the east, the provincial capital is The Hague, while its largest city is Rotterdam. Archaeological discoveries in Hardinxveld-Giessendam indicate that the area of South Holland has been inhabited since at least ca.7,500 years before present, agriculture and permanent settlements probably originated around 2,000 years later, based on excavations near Vlaardingen. In the classical antiquity, South Holland was part of the Roman Province of Germania Inferior, the Romans built fortresses along the border, such as Praetorium Agrippinae near modern-day Valkenburg, Matilo near modern-day Leiden, and Albaniana near modern-day Alphen aan den Rijn. A city was founded near modern-day Voorburg, Forum Hadriani and it was built according to the grid plan, and facilitated a square, a court, a bathhouse and several temples. After the departure of the Romans, the area belonged to the Frisian Kingdom, in 690, the Anglo-Saxon monk Willibrord arrived near Katwijk and was granted permission to spread Roman Catholicism by the Frankish king Pepin II. He accordingly founded a church in Oegstgeest, after which the area was gradually Christianised. The area was appointed to East Francia in the Treaty of Verdun in 843, after which the king granted lands to Gerolf and this was the birth of the County of Holland. Gerolf was later succeeded by Dirk I, who continued to rule Holland under the Frankish king, in 1248, count William II ordered the construction of the Ridderzaal, which was later finished by his son and successor Floris V. The first city in South Holland to receive city rights was Dordrecht, the city retained a dominant position in the area until it was struck by a series of floods in the late 14th century. The same century saw a series of civil wars, the Hook and Cod wars. Both his daughter Jaqueline and his brother John, the supported by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. The conflict ended in 1490, with John victorious, overall, the area of South Holland remained largely agrarian throughout the late Middle Ages. This changed around 1500, when Holland became Europes most urbanised area, during the Eighty Years War, the area of South Holland was the scene of the Capture of Brielle, the Siege of Leiden and the assassination of William the Silent. The United Netherlands declared their independence in 1581, and Holland quickly emerged as the dominant province, with important trading cities such as Leiden, Delft, Gouda. In 1575, the Netherlands first university was founded in Leiden by William the Silent, the Hague, which had originated around the castle of the counts of Holland, became its new political centre. Both the States of Holland and the States General seated in the Binnenhof, the Dutch Golden Age blossomed in the 17th century
33.
North Brabant
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Noord Brabant, also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the west, the northern border follows the Meuse river westward to its mouth in the Hollands Diep strait, part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183 or 1190. Until the 17th century, the area that now makes up the province of North Brabant was mostly part of the Duchy of Brabant, of which the southern part is now in Belgium. In the 14th and 15th century, the experienced a golden age, especially the cities of Brussel, Mechelen, Leuven, Antwerpen, Breda, Bergen op Zoom. After the Union of Utrecht was signed in 1579, Brabant became a battlefield between the Protestant Dutch Republic and Catholic Spain, which occupied the southern Netherlands, attempts to introduce Protestantism into the region were largely unsuccessful, North Brabant remained strongly Roman Catholic. For over a century, North Brabant served mainly as a buffer zone. In 1796, when confederate Dutch Republic became the unitary Batavian Republic and this status ended with the reorganisation by the French, and the area was divided over several departments. This boundary between the Netherlands and Belgium is special in that it does not form a contiguous line, a few of these irregularities were corrected, Huijbergen became totally Dutch, but some remain, notably Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau. The period from 1900 until the late 1960s is called Het Rijke Roomse Leven, in those days every village in North Brabant had a convent from which the nuns operated. Politically, the province was dominated by Catholic parties, the Roomsch-Katholieke Staatspartij and its successor, the Katholieke Volkspartij. The influence of Het Rijke Roomse Leven remains in the form of education where some schools are still Roman Catholic, a cultural divide is still found between the Catholic south and the Protestant north, but with a total of 1. In the province of North Brabant Catholics are no longer a majority of the population as of 2010, only 1–2% of the total population of Catholic area attend mass, and these churchgoers consist mostly of people over 65 years old. With a population density of 501/km², North-Brabant is above average urbanized, the urbanization is at the center of the province at largest, where the kite is located, the rest of the province has a more rural character. The province has preserved some of its scenic nature well, also, south of Eindhoven named De Kempen is a beautiful area with farmlands and forests. In Heeze, also south of Eindhoven, are the areas the Groote Heide. The Strabrechtse Heide holds also the largest fen of the Netherlands, like most of the Netherlands, North Brabant is mostly flat but nearly every part of North Brabant is above sea level, therefore, there are not as many canals as in the lower parts of The Netherlands. Although most of the lives in urban areas, the province is scattered with villages around which most of the land is cultivated
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Rijkswaterstaat
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Its role is the practical execution of the public works and water management, including the construction and maintenance of waterways and roads, and flood protection and prevention. The agency was involved in the construction of big railway projects such as the Betuweroute. The mission of the organisation is, Rijkswaterstaat is de rijksdienst die werkt aan droge voeten, the agency is divided in 10 regional,6 specialist services and 2 special services. The director-general of Rijkswaterstaat is as of 1 February 2010 mr. ing, as of January 1,2006, Rijkswaterstaat is an agentschap. The word waterstaat denotes the condition of an area in relation to the level, the component rijks translates as national. Rijkswaterstaat is divided in regional services, formerly known as directies, every regional service is managed by a hoofdingenieur-directeur. The regions are divided in local water- en wegendistricten, formerly known as dienstkringen,2003 -2010 Projectdirectie HSL-Zuid, High Speed Line South. rijkswaterstaat. nl About Rijkswaterstaat as an agency Rijkswaterstaat organizational overview
35.
Weather station
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The measurements taken include temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation amounts. Wind measurements are taken with as few other obstructions as possible, while temperature and humidity measurements are kept free from direct solar radiation, manual observations are taken at least once daily, while automated measurements are taken at least once an hour. Weather conditions out at sea are taken by ships and buoys, which slightly different meteorological quantities such as sea surface temperature, wave height. Drifting weather buoys outnumber their moored versions by a significant amount, the instrumentation may be specialized to allow for periodic recording otherwise significant manual labour is required for record keeping. Automatic transmission of data, in a such as METAR, is also desirable as many weather stations data is required for weather forecasting. A personal weather station is a set of measuring instruments operated by a private individual, club, association. The quality, number of instruments, and placement of personal weather stations can vary widely, making the determination of which stations collect accurate, meaningful, personal weather stations also typically involve a digital console that provides readouts of the data being collected. These consoles may interface to a computer where data can be displayed, stored. Personal weather stations may be operated solely for the enjoyment and education of the owner, however some owners share their results with others and they do this by either by manually compiling data and distributing it, distributing data over the internet internet, or sharing data via amateur radio. The Citizen Weather Observer Program is a service which facilitates the sharing of information from weather stations. This data is submitted through use of software, a personal computer, each weather station submitting data to CWOP will also have an individual Web page that depicts the data submitted by that station. The Weather Underground Internet site is popular destination for the submittal. As with CWOP, each station submitting data to The Weather Underground has a unique Web page displaying their submitted data, the UK Met Offices Weather Observations Website also allows such data to be shared and displayed. A weather ship was a ship stationed in the ocean as a platform for surface and it was also meant to aid in search and rescue operations and to support transatlantic flights. The establishment of weather ships proved to be so useful during World War II that the International Civil Aviation Organization established a network of 13 weather ships in 1948. Of the 12 left in operation in 1996, nine were located in the northern Atlantic ocean while three were located in the northern Pacific ocean, the agreement of the weather ships ended in 1990. Weather ship observations proved to be helpful in wind and wave studies, the last weather ship was MS Polarfront, known as weather station M at 66°N, 02°E, run by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. MS Polarfront was removed from service January 1,2010, since the 1960s this role has been largely superseded by satellites, long range aircraft and weather buoys
36.
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
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The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute is the Dutch national weather forecasting service, which has its headquarters in De Bilt, in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. The primary tasks of KNMI are weather forecasting, monitoring of climate changes, KNMI is also the national research and information centre for climate, climate change and seismology. Seismological research as well as monitoring of seismic activity, kNMIs applied research also encompasses the development and operational use of atmospheric dispersion models. At such times, KNMI activates a special calamity service, for this purpose, a group of seven meteorologists is constantly on call day or night. KNMIs role in supplying information during emergencies is included in municipal and provincial disaster management plans, civil services, fire departments and the police can be provided with weather and other relevant information directly by the meteorologist on duty, through dedicated telephone connections. It has been designed to calculate the dispersion of air pollution on European scales, the model was originally tested by using measurements of the dispersion of radioactivity caused by the accident in the nuclear power plant of Chernobyl in 1986. A few years later, in 1994, a dedicated dispersion experiment called ETEX was carried out, CALM - CALM is a CALamity Model designed for the calculation of air pollution dispersion on small spatial scales, within the Netherlands. The algorithms and parameters contained in the CALM model are identical to that of the PUFF model. However, the input can only be supplied manually in CALM. The user provides both observed and predicted values for wind velocity at the 10 meter height level, the atmospheric stability classification and the mixing height. After the model calculations have been performed, a map is created and displayed with the trajectories of the pollution plume and an indication of how
37.
Telegraph
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Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of textual or symbolic messages without the physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pigeon post is not, telegraphy requires that the method used for encoding the message be known to both sender and receiver. Such methods are designed according to the limits of the medium used. The use of signals, beacons, reflected light signals. In the 19th century, the harnessing of electricity led to the invention of electrical telegraphy, the advent of radio in the early 20th century brought about radiotelegraphy and other forms of wireless telegraphy. The word telegraph was first coined by the French inventor of the Semaphore line, Claude Chappe, a telegraph is a device for transmitting and receiving messages over long distances, i. e. for telegraphy. The word telegraph alone now generally refers to an electrical telegraph, Wireless telegraphy is also known as CW, for continuous wave, as opposed to the earlier radio technique of using a spark gap. Contrary to the definition used by Chappe, Morse argued that the term telegraph can strictly be applied only to systems that transmit. This is to be distinguished from semaphore, which transmits messages. Smoke signals, for instance, are to be considered semaphore, according to Morse, telegraph dates only from 1832 when Pavel Schilling invented one of the earliest electrical telegraphs. A telegraph message sent by a telegraph operator or telegrapher using Morse code was known as a telegram. A cablegram was a sent by a submarine telegraph cable. Later, a Telex was a sent by a Telex network. A wire picture or wire photo was a picture that was sent from a remote location by a facsimile telegraph. A diplomatic telegram, also known as a cable, is the term given to a confidential communication between a diplomatic mission and the foreign ministry of its parent country. These continue to be called telegrams or cables regardless of the used for transmission. Commercial electrical telegraphs were introduced from 1837, the first telegraphs came in the form of optical telegraph, including the use of smoke signals, beacons, or reflected light, which have existed since ancient times. Early proposals for a telegraph system were made to the Royal Society by Robert Hooke in 1684 and were first implemented on an experimental level by Sir Richard Lovell Edgeworth in 1767
38.
Amateur radio operator
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As a component of their license, amateur radio operators are assigned a call sign that they use to identify themselves during communication. There are about three million amateur radio operators worldwide, amateur radio operators are also known as radio amateurs or hams. The term ham as a nickname for radio operators originated in a pejorative usage by operators in commercial and professional radio communities. The word was adopted by amateur radio operators. Few governments maintain detailed demographic statistics of their radio operator populations. The majority of radio operators worldwide reside in Japan, the United States, Thailand, South Korea. The top five countries by percentage of the population are Japan, Slovenia, Taiwan, South Korea, only the governments of Yemen and North Korea currently prohibit their citizens from becoming amateur radio operators. In some countries, acquiring an amateur license is difficult because of the bureaucratic processes or fees that place access to a license out of reach for most citizens. Most nations permit foreign nationals to earn an amateur radio license, in the vast majority of countries, the population of amateur radio operators is predominantly male. In China 12% of amateur operators are women, whilst in the United States is it approximately 15%. The Young Ladies Radio League is an organization of female amateur radio operators. A male amateur radio operator can be referred to as an OM, a female amateur radio operator can be referred to as a YL, from the abbreviation used for young lady, regardless of the operators age. Sometimes the wife of a ham operator is called a YF, although these codes are derived from English language abbreviations, their use is common among amateur radio operators worldwide. Incidentally, the most common language heard in the HF amateur bands is English, in most countries there is no minimum age requirement to earn an amateur radio license and become an amateur radio operator. Although the number of radio operators in many countries increases from year to year. In some countries, the age is over 80 years old. The World Wide Young Contesters organization promotes youth involvement, particularly amongst Europeans, a strong tie also exists between the amateur radio community and the Scouting movement to introduce radio technology to youth. WOSMs annual Jamboree On The Air is Scoutings largest activity, with a half million Scouts, when referring to a person, the phrase Silent Key and its abbreviation SK indicates an amateur radio operator who is deceased
39.
North Holland
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North Holland is a province in the northwest of the Netherlands. It is situated on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, in 2015, it had a population of 2,762,163 and a total area of 2,670 km2. From the 9th to the 16th century, the area was a part of the County of Holland. During this period West Friesland was incorporated, in the 17th and 18th century, the area was part of the province of Holland. At that time, the distinction between the Noorderkwartier and the Zuiderkwartier became common, in 1840, the province of Holland was split into the two provinces of North Holland and South Holland. In 1855, the Haarlemmermeer was drained and turned into land, the capital and seat of the provincial government is Haarlem, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands capital city, is the provinces largest city. The Kings Commissioner of North Holland is Johan Remkes, there are 51 municipalities and three water boards in the province. For most of its history, the province of North Holland was an integral part of Holland. From the 9th century to the 16th century, Holland was a county ruled by the counts of Holland, during this period an area known as West Friesland was conquered and integrated into Holland. For centuries afterwards Holland would be officially called Holland and West Friesland, the people of West Friesland had a strong sense of identity as a region within Holland. From the 16th century to 1795, Holland was the wealthiest and most important province in the United Provinces in the Dutch Republic, as the richest and most powerful province, Holland dominated the union. During this period a distinction was made between the North Quarter and the South Quarter, areas that roughly correspond to the two modern provinces. The province of North Holland as it is today has its origins in the period of French rule from 1795 to 1813 and this was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In 1795 the old order was swept away and the Batavian Republic was established, in the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments with roughly equal populations, Holland was split up into five departments named Texel, Amstel, Delf, Schelde en Maas, and Rijn. The first three of these lay within the borders of the old Holland, the two were made up of parts of different provinces. In 1801 the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created and this reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of breaking up Holland and making it a less powerful province. This time the two departments were called Amstelland and Maasland and this also did not last long
40.
Schouwen-Duiveland
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Schouwen-Duiveland is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33737 inhabitants and covers an area of 488.94 square kilometres, the island has two fixed connections to Goeree-Overflakkee, the Brouwersdam and the Grevelingen. The Oosterschelde is like the Zeeland bridge to North Beveland, the island is mostly flat and parts are below the sea level. On the western tip is a dune whose highest point is about 42 meters above sea level, the island is, in the summer, very popular with tourists. The Renesse area is a holiday destination for young people. The Brouwersdam is a dam, part of the Delta Works, from Schouwen-Duiveland to Goedereede, the island of Schouwen-Duiveland was originally four islands, Schouwen, Duiveland, Dreischor and Bommenede. Over the centuries it has grown by nature and man together, the dam between Schouwen and Duiveland dates from 1610. On April 30,1900 the Rotterdam Tramway Company opened a tram line on the island running as public transport until 1 February 1953. After the floods of 1953, the service has not been restored and has replaced by a bus line. During the Second World War, it was the island that remained under German occupation until May 1945 was Schouwen-Duiveland. In December 1944, the Germans had declared their intent to deport all men aged between 17 and 40. The local resistance fighters made plans to sabotage this by stealing all the registers on the island with the help of nearby Allies, events unfolded that led to the capture of ten local men who were subsequently executed. After the completion of the Brouwersdam in 1972 the island became a center of water sports, surfing, sailing and diving are common activities on the North Sea beaches and the Grevelingenmeer. Dutch Topographic map of the island of Schouwen-Duiveland, as per Sept.2014, the main population centres are listed in the tables below. There are two places in Schouwen-Duiveland, Zierikzee and Brouwershaven, which in the past had gained city rights, then there are the hamlets Looperskapelle, Moriaanshoofd, Nieuwerkerk, Nieuwerkerke, Schuddebeurs, Westenschouwen, Zierikzee, Beldert, Brijdorpe, Burghsluis, Capelle, Elkerzee and New Haamstede. The town hall is in Zierikzee, there is no village called Schouwen-Duiveland, the municipality takes its name from the island, which received its name when the former islands Schouwen and Duiveland were poldered together. The municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland on 1 January 1997 came about after six municipalities were merged and these municipalities were Brouwershaven, Bruinisse, Duiveland, Middenschouwen, Westerschouwen and Zierikzee. These six municipalities were created on January 1,1961 from a previous reclassification, the council of Schouwen-Duiveland consists of 23 seats
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Tholen
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Tholen is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, the municipality consists of two peninsulas, formerly islands, the larger one on the south also called Tholen, the smaller one on the north called Sint Philipsland. The two are separated by the strait, now bay, of Krabbenkreek. The town has a historical center partly surrounded by a gracht
42.
Voorne-Putten
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Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. Voorne-Putten consists of the two former islands Voorne and Putten and it used to be separated by the river Bernisse which silted up and made the two islands one. Recently the riverbed has been dredged, and the two islands have been reformed, the rest of the island is a mostly agricultural region
43.
Alblasserwaard
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The Alblasserwaard is a polder in the province South Holland in the Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, a village in the northwest of the Alblasserwaard, the first human inhabitants of the Alblasserwaard settled there after the last Ice Age, around 10.000 years ago. The ice had not reached the area itself, but eolian deposits created high points in the wet environment and these high points were places where hunter-gatherers settled, as archaeological investigations in the area have shown. During the Middle Ages several canals and dikes were created to reclaim the land, yet numerous floods continued to happen throughout the history of the area, as it is bound by rivers on all sides. During World War II the Bombing of Rotterdam also damaged the Alblasserwaard and it was flooded during the North Sea flood of 1953. The Alblasserwaard is bordered by rivers on all sides, to the north is the Lek, to the west runs the Noord and to the south the river Merwede. On the east side are the Merwede-Kanaal, the Linge and the Oude Zederik, de village Kinderdijk, well-known from its windmills, is located at the northwest corner of the Alblasserwaard, where the Noord and the Lek joins. Most of the Alblasserwaard is rural, but partially under the influence of the cities Rotterdam and Dordrecht on the borders of the area, the largest cities in the Alblasserwaard are Gorinchem, with 35,000 inhabitants, and Papendrecht with slightly over 30,000 people. Both are on the borders of the Alblasserwaard. Most of it has won from the water through land reclamation. This process led to the area being full of dikes alongside the rivers, most of the Alblasserwaard is grassland, where in the spring and summer one will find herds of cows, sheep and goats. While large parts of the Alblasserwaard are owned by farmers, or are populated, the windmills of Kinderdijk are a major tourist attraction. In the southwest of the Alblasserwaard is the Alblasserbos, an artificial forest area where deer and foxes live, roughly between Streefkerk and Brandwijk is the area Donkse Laagten, which is under the protection of the Dutch governmental branch Staatsbosbeheer. There are three free camping spots in the Alblasserwaard, as part of a project by Staatsbosbeheer to promote legal camping in the wild and these are located respectively in the Alblasserbos, the Donkse Laagten and the Avelingen. The Lammetjeswiel is an area within the village of Alblasserdam. It is a swimming area, with governmental checks of the water condition twice a month. Google Map of the Alblasserwaard UNESCO about the windmills at Kinderdijk
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Zuid-Beveland
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Zuid-Beveland is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Westerschelde and south of the Oosterschelde. It is an island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Beveland on the west. It consists of four municipalities, Borsele Goes Kapelle Reimerswaal Goes is Zuid-Bevelands principal urban center, Zuid-Beveland is a former island which was joined to the mainland by a railway embankment in 1903 and to Noord-Beveland by the Delta Works. A shipping canal connecting the Belgian port of Antwerp with the Rhine River traverses Zuid-Beveland and this was the period during which most of Zeeland appears to have been submerged. The area was and for several centuries would remain almost unpeopled, during the eleventh century the area began to be drained, as little by little polders and channels were developed to protect the fields between them. Once drained, salt levels began to reduce and the soil very fertile. In the thirteenth century villages and towns began to appear, people lived chiefly from farming and fishing. The commercial centre of Zuid-Beveland was Goes, but Reimerswaal to the east, as a result of the St. Felix Days floods in November 1530, much of the island disappeared under water. Towns and villages were lost to what became known as the land of Zuid-Beveland. The island was badly impacted forty years later in November 1570 by the “All Saints’ Day floods. Between 1568 and 1648, during the course of what by its end had become the War of Dutch Independence. During most of this period the economy of the Netherlands slowed or contracted, however, the region benefitted from advances in transportation, connected in 1868 to Roosendaal by railroad with the inauguration of the Zeeland Line. In 1850 work began on the Zuid-Beveland Canal which linked the Western Scheldt, the construction in 1871 of the Sloedam, topped off with a roadway and a railway track, across the old Sloe Channel, connected Zuid-Beveland with Walcheren. On 16 May 1940, heavy fighting occurred near Kapelle between German and French motorized troops, who came to the rescue of the Dutch, the next day 65 French soldiers were buried by the local people. After World War II every French soldier, who was killed in the Netherlands during the war, was brought to Kapelle, on 16 May 1950, the military cemetery on the edge of town was officially opened. 217 French soldiers,20 Moroccan soldiers in French service and 1 Belgian soldier were buried here, the area was liberated by British and Canadians during the Battle of the Scheldt in November 1944. In the night of 31 January and the morning of 1 February 1953 a heavy flood occurred in the southwest of the Netherlands, because of the relative high altitude, the most part of Zuid-Beveland was relatively safe. In particular the eastern part of the peninsula suffered from floods, to prevent future floods, the Delta Works were started in 1950
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Noord-Beveland
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Noord-Beveland is a municipality and region in the southwestern Netherlands and a former island, now part of the Walcheren-Zuid-Beveland-Noord-Beveland peninsula. Noord-Beveland is enclosed by the Oosterschelde estuary to the north, as part of the Delta Works, dams have connected Noord-Beveland to Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland. Colijnsplaat Geersdijk Kamperland Kats Kortgene Wissenkerke and it was an important centre for trade. Nearby, there was a dedicated to the ancient regional sea goddess Nehalennia. A replica of this temple was opened in Colijnsplaat in August 2005. Media related to Noord-Beveland at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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IJsselmonde (island)
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IJsselmonde is a river island between the Nieuwe Maas, Noord and Oude Maas branches rivers of the Rhine-Meuse delta in the Dutch province of South Holland. The city of Rotterdam now occupies most of the part of the island and includes the eponymous former village of IJsselmonde. The island was once an agricultural region, but is mostly suburbs today. Only the mid-south parts of the island have retained their agricultural character, however, as the Waal stretch has been closed off at both ends, the Waard is now generally considered to be part of IJsselmonde. The dammed western end of the Waal river is now referred to as Waaltje
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Pernis, Netherlands
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Pernis is a neighborhood and submunicipality of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The district has a population of 4,789 on an area size of 1.60 km². Pernis is thus a full submunicipality of Rotterdam, but the independent municipality had its own district council already. Although surrounded by ports, Pernis has preserved its village-like atmosphere very well, Pernis is best known for its petrochemical industry. Shells sprawling complex located there is the largest oil refinery in Europe, Pernis was merged with s-Gravenambacht in 1832. It remained an independent municipality until 1934, when it was merged into Rotterdam, Residents by age Births and deaths Residents by origin Household composition Sjaak Troost – Feyenoord football defender Rotterdam Metro. Website of the council of Pernis
