Close
those
breaches
31
Counterattack
and victory
Close those breaches
A clear and concise order indeed, but also an order which owing to
its size and the limited time available (ready before the autumn gales
placed the Netherlands hydraulic engineers before a gigantic task.
This task has been accomplished by the joint efforts of the government
departments concerned, the contractors, the suppliers of building ma
terials, the tugboat companies, the host of workers and many others. All
those who took part in this gigantic struggle realized that their efforts
had the support of the entire Netherlands people and particularly of their
families at home, who knew and understood what was at stake.
Organization
During the first few days after the disaster the initiative taken both by
the local authorities and by those who had come to the rescue from other
parts proved to be of inestimable value, for if it is possible to strike down
the water wolf in the initial stage of his attack the evil wrought
can still be repaired with simple means.
What happened at Colijnsplaat, for example, in the night of 31st
January, 1953, should not be allowed to sink into oblivion. A party of
undaunted men stood together shoulder to shoulder to support with the
mere weight of their bodies the insecure water defence, closing an opening
in the dike, until the water had subsided; they achieved their object and
their village was saved from flooding!
It was in those first days, too, that the sandbag the old approved
weapon was used by the million to construct emergency water defences.
But it would not have been in keeping with Netherlands tradition if
this unorganized initiative, which absorbed the first impact in the struggle
against the elements, had not been converted within 3 X 24 hours into
an orderly, co-ordinated attack. With a firm hand "Rijkswaterstaat" took
over the central control and, whilst delegating ample powers to the local
authorities, formed a sound organization, in which especially the Pro
vincial Boards (Waterstaten) occupied a leading position.
An important decision was the temporary cessation of the national
