This newspaper has been a central part of community life for many years. Yet if not for the heroics of many people – some honoured, others rewarded merely with the satisfaction that they had done their best – so many others would also have perished. Thousands more spent a terrifying winter night, cowering on roofs, in trees, and on improvised rafts, soaked to the skin and lashed by salt-spray and hurricane-force winds. Image: Environment Agency. The winds began lashing Scotland – and the ever-deepening low-pressure system causing them spun off its predicted course and straight down the North Sea. On the night of January 31, people in the towns of King’s Lynn and Hunstanton, Sheringham and Yarmouth and the villages of Snettisham, Heacham, Salthouse and Sea Palling were among thousands huddling in their homes as the storm became ever-more fearsome. Darkness fell and they retreated to the fireside. Tens of thousands more lost almost everything they owned and became homeless overnight. Many casualties died in the night, asleep in their beds and unaware of the approaching torrent until they were being swept away in it. Lowestoft did not suffer any deaths on the night of the floods but days later it emerged that the Guava, with 11 men onboard, was lost at sea in the storm. In King’s Lynn there were 15 deaths, Yarmouth suffered 10 losses and the village of Sea Palling seven, including four from the same family. Two village surgeries closed after staff catch coronavirus, ‘Something needs to be done about it’ - shoppers raise concerns over Lidl overcrowding. In Mundesley witnesses spoke later of waves 80ft high, sweeping entire buildings over the promenade. Moments later a complete bungalow was swept into the train. This 1953 Flood map was found in the Echo Archives. My information will not be shared with any third party (see our Privacy Statement - opens in a new window). Worst hit was Canvey Island, with the whole area deluged and 11,000 homes affected. Your email address will not be published. On Saturday January 31, 1953 people noted a strange yellow tinge to the twilight, strong gusts of wind and a marked drop in temperature. But many were too infirm, frail or young to withstand the tidal onslaught. Exactly 100 people were drowned, in Norfolk alone, that dreadful night. The map was in a bad way with damage to the folds so it was decided to repair it and mount it so that it could be used for future exhibitions. To send a link to this page you must be logged in. Nine people drowned and more than 3,000 homes were inundated. In Sheringham the storm pushed sea water right over seafront hotels, and flooding down chimneys into homes. Two village surgeries closed after staff catch coronavirus, ‘Something needs to be done about it’ - shoppers raise concerns over Lidl overcrowding. Lowestoft was cut in two by the surging flood water, but there were no deaths that terrible night. Privacy Statement - opens in a new window. Click the link in the orange box above for details. This was part of a total of 66 fatalities in Snettisham, Heacham and Hunstanton. When the tidal wave of sea water hit, it inundated a fifth of the town. But 60 years ago the people of Norfolk’s coastal towns and villages were literally in the dark as hurricane force winds drove water down the North Sea towards them. Then the wind pushed the water up to rise even higher and the sea reached a record height of 4,5 meter above mean sea level. Required fields are marked *, I consent to my name and e-mail address being stored along with this comment, and to the website editors communicating with me by e-mail about the comment if necessary. PUBLISHED: 14:26 29 January 2013 | UPDATED: 14:26 29 January 2013, 1953 FLOODS SEA PALLING DATED EDP 2.2.53 PLATE P0008. The winds pulled vast quantities of sea water southwards – a huge surge of water being forced down the narrowing funnel of the North Sea and on to the East coast of Britain. Are Norfolk and Waveney likely to get tougher coronavirus restrictions? The east coast floods of 1953 the elements, had spent the afternoon pre-paring for a ‘normal’ storm as best they could, securing their boats, shoring up shrubs and trees, and generally battening everything down in readiness for a wild night. A yellow warning, would have turned to amber and then red, and tens of thousands of Norfolk people would have gathered in inland community halls and schools – worried, maybe homeless, but alive. In Salthouse 30 houses were destroyed in 30 terrifying minutes. Many of the victims of the 1953 floods died in the place they felt safest… their own homes. Almost 100ft of the promenade was swept away. Yarmouth was flooded from the sea and from Breydon Water as waves crashed through the doors of hotels along the Golden Mile and, behind the town, the banks of Breydon Water were breached and water crashed through streets and homes. The damage was even worse in the Netherlands, where large parts of Zuid-Holland, Zeeland and Nord Brabant were flooded, 200,000 hectares in total. Coronavirus hits 50 Norfolk schools as teachers feel strain, Norwich courts hit by two unrelated Covid-19 scares in recent weeks. But against a huge wall of water bursting through sea walls and over flood defences, their homes crumbled or were smashed into wooden fragments with householders within. Those who stayed often became the casualties. At first it was dubbed the luckiest town on the coast. It clearly shows the extent of the flooding in Essex. It happened in the night or early morning, February 1st, 1953. This 1953 Flood map was found in the Echo Archives. More than 300 died along the east coast of England – and across the North Sea the Netherlands was even harder hit with a death toll of more than 1,800. It clearly shows the extent of the flooding in Essex. A northwestern storm was blowing and it was to be spring tide. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. In Cley families retreated upstairs as the waters rose and a vast inland sea formed behind what was left of coastal villages. Click the link in the orange box above for details. *, History & memories of a unique island community. Soon after the 7.27 train left Hunstanton for King’s Lynn it was halted as the sea raced across the railway line. Many thousands more had lost almost everything they owned, as homes around the entire coast of Norfolk were washed away or inundated with salt water and mud. At low tide the water level at sea was as high as it is normally when it is high tide. To send a link to this page you must be logged in. The overall death toll from the 1953 east coast floods is widely accepted as 307. A policeman put a rescued baby in a suitcase to shield it from flying pebbles from the beach and tiles from houses. My name may be published alongside the comment on the website, but my e-mail address will not be published. It was never seen again – one of eight ships which disappeared without trace in the hurricane. If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Eastern Daily Press. Others who died lost their lives courageously trying to save others. In Salthouse there was the case of a husband who carried his wife on to the kitchen table after she broke her leg when water burst through the front door. Every contribution will help us continue to produce local journalism that makes a measurable difference to our community. Tomorrow – meet some of the heroes of the 1953 flood. Roads turned to rivers. Your email address will not be published. As MARK NICHOLLS reports, Norfolk suffered badly. It has been argued that if there had been a warning system in place, many of those lives lost would have been saved. Coronavirus hits 50 Norfolk schools as teachers feel strain, Norwich courts hit by two unrelated Covid-19 scares in recent weeks. Map of 1953 North Sea Floods. The floods which overwhelmed Norfolk’s sea defences on the night of Saturday January 31, 1953, are still remembered as the worst peacetime disaster to strike East Anglia. Our industry faces testing times, which is why we're asking for your support. As the howling winds forced millions of gallons of water down into the narrow funnel of the southern North Sea, there was only one escape route for the raging torrent and that was on to the flat lands of the east coast. An estimated 30,000 animals drowned, and 47,300 buildings were … An important find for Canvey. Out to sea a routine weather report from a ship near Iceland noted a drop in air pressure. In Hunstanton, 31 people perished, 16 of them American service personnel and their families, including six from one household, as they lodged in wooden homes. Are Norfolk and Waveney likely to get tougher coronavirus restrictions? In one house water burst through the front door with such force that it broke a woman’s leg. In Cobholm the little boats from the seafront summer boating lakes were used to rescue people from upstairs windows. In some areas, neighbours banged on doors urging their friends to leave before the water level rose too high. Other villages such as Cley, Wiveton and Watlington had one death in each. At Wells harbourmaster Frank Smith took a boat through the raging torrent to help a coastguard trapped in the beach lookout station. Winds raged, the storm-whipped sea surged to high tide and, in the darkness, water crashed into thousands of homes. Every contribution will help us continue to produce local journalism that makes a measurable difference to our community. Start the ball rolling by posting a comment on this page! In King’s Lynn the river was already at the top of its banks, long before high tide. It was plotted by forecasters at Britain’s Meteorological office as a secondary depression which had broken away from a major low-pressure system in the Atlantic. Sea defences were swept aside by the wall of water which swept into King’s Lynn at 6.30pm, had reached Hunstanton by 7pm and was powering towards Great Yarmouth by 9pm. Lincolnshire was also badly hit, with 41 people being killed. The map was in a bad way with damage to the folds so it was decided to repair it and mount it so that it could be used for future exhibitions. By midnight 100 people were dead in Norfolk alone, drowned as a wall of water swept over sea walls and through streets and homes. This is why families that were affected were left often mourning more than one member of the household. At Southwold, five died and further along the coast another 40 at Felixstowe, eight at Harwich and 37 in Jaywick. Today there would be colour-coded weather warnings from the Met Office, days in advance. Our industry faces testing times, which is why we're asking for your support. This newspaper has been a central part of community life for many years. The floods which overwhelmed Norfolk’s sea defences on the night of Saturday January 31, 1953, are still remembered as the worst peacetime disaster to strike East Anglia. On the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and the morning of 1 February 1953, the North Sea was experiencing spring tides. An estimated 1,836 people lost their lives, mostly in the southern province of Zeeland, and 100,000 more were evacuated. The tide was racing in, eight feet higher than predicted in Norfolk – and a terrifying 14 feet higher than predicted across the sea in the Netherlands. Sixty years ago this week a terrible storm tore along the coast of Norfolk. There were 58 deaths. Yet the worst loss of life was across the North Sea in Holland, where 1800 were killed by the floodwaters. However, Lowestoft fishing trawler Guava had left Lowestoft on January 30, with a crew of 11, to fish for herring.

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