Flood, the Disaster in Tholen

The islands of Sint Philipsland and Tholen were also hit hard by the Disaster of 1953. This flood disaster left a significant mark on the general history of Zeeland. More than half of the territory was flooded by seawater. In Stavenisse, which was hit even harder, 153 people were killed and the material damage was enormous. The monument “The Sea Monster” – a sculpture of a fish made by the Amsterdam sculptor Gerrit Bolhuis – serves as a reminder of the terrible flood. The statue is located on the Provincialeweg between Sint-Maartensdijk and Stavenisse.

After the flood disaster, they started to redesign the landscape. The oldest polders on the south side of the island underwent very drastic changes; roads were moved and dikes were excavated. Due to the improvement of the watercourses and the placement of pumping stations, the groundwater level decreased considerably.

This allowed the farmers to work on the former pasture buildings and agriculture flourished. Many poplars were also planted at that time. These have largely been replaced in recent years by more sustainable trees such as ash, walnut, oak maple, abelian, linden and willow. It is not for nothing that Tholen is often called the land of the aoge baomen (the land of the tall trees).