The Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier is part of the delta works that protect the Dutch province of Zeeland against high water from the Northern Sea.
This barrier is no less than 9 kilometres long and connects Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland with each other. The safety system is designed in such a way that the gates are closed automatically at a certain water level. This has happened 27 times since this storm surge barrier was finished in 1986 to prevent flooding of land behind it. The Delta Works were built in response to the great flood disaster in 1953 so that a disaster of this proportion could never again take place in the future. The construction of the Oosterscheldekering, among others, has put the Netherlands on the map as a leading engineer in waterworks.
