Sixty years after the deadly 1953 North Sea flood, an ultimate attempt has been taken to identify people who perished during the flood in the Dutch province of Zeeland, local mayor Gerard Rabelink said Tuesday. Back in end-January 1953, many dykes in the provinces of Zeeland, South Holland and North-Brabant were unable to resist the combination of spring tide and a northwesterly storm. On both the islands and the mainland, large areas were completely flooded, with a total of 1,836 people killed in the Netherlands, mainly in Zeeland. Mayor Rabelink of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, where many casualties were reported, granted a request by the police and the Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI) to exhume unidentified bodies and enable researchers to procure DNA. "The flood subject is still very delicate in Zeeland," Rabelink told Xinhua. "This year, I visited couples married for 60 years who speak about an era before and after the flood. I recently spoke to a gentleman of 85 years of age and the tears rolled down his cheeks because he lost his mother to the flood. We also have a Flood Disaster Museum, allowing people to remember and commemorate." "I decided to install a commission to identify the unidentified victims so people could be identified and relatives could finally get closure," he added. In Schouwen-Duiveland, 32 victims of the flood remain unidentified. The operation in Zealand is part of a nationwide operation. Police are trying to identify all unknown dead people between 1920 and 2010 in the Netherlands. From 2010, doctors have been obliged to take DNA samples of a deceased person. The results of the investigation in Schouwen-Duivenland will probably take months, but things are already moving along. "We are getting calls from across the country from people who want to hand in their DNA, even people from Australia," Rabelink said.
GMT 10:54 2018 Sunday ,02 December
Egypt wins membership of World Water Council board of governorsGMT 13:57 2018 Thursday ,29 November
UN weather agency: 2018 is fourth hottest year on recordGMT 07:52 2018 Thursday ,15 November
Massive meteorite crater discovered under Greenland ice-sheetGMT 14:25 2018 Sunday ,28 October
Indonesia quake losses soar to 1.2 billion dollarsGMT 07:44 2018 Wednesday ,24 October
Hurricane Willa gathers speed on way to Mexico's coastGMT 09:11 2018 Tuesday ,23 October
Sri Lanka, Germany top Lonely Planet's destination list for in 2019GMT 19:48 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Oil slick off China coast trebles in sizeGMT 13:38 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Spotted hyena returns to Gabon park after 20 yearsMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor