Tidal surge
down the
North Sea
locally
exceeded 5.6
metres
above mean
sea level
Flood
defence
system for
London was
created
40,000
people made
homeless
19 fatalities
reported in
Scotland
200 miles of
railway
destroyed
Maximum
wind speed
observed
during the
storm was
126mph
The storm
was formed
by a rapidly
moving low
pressure
weather
system
24,000
homes
damaged
In the 1950s
no stations
were
operating at
night to issue
warnings
Combination
of high spring
ties, storm
surge and
severe winds
resulted in
sea defences
being
overwhelmed
The storm
surge
travelled up
the Thames
and flooded
West Ham in
East London
The cyclone
underwent a
process
known as
bombogenesis
On the night
of Saturday 31
January 1953
and morning
of 1 February
1953 the
North Sea
experienced
spring tides
Storm surge In England
broke
307 people
through sand were killed
dunes at Sea over Norfolk,
palling in
Lincolnshire,
Norfolk
Suffolk and
Essex
In Felixstowe
41 people
died, 13
were
children
160,000
acres of land
inundated
with sea
water
32,000
people
evacuated
1600km of
coastline
damaged
Damage ran
up to £50
million in
1953
Virtually no
warnings
were passed
down the
East coast
due to phone
lines being
blown out
A Sea wall
and groynes
were
installed at
Sea Palling
As a result
the east
coast floods
and coastal
forecasting
service was
established
within the
Met Office
The
Northerly
gales on the
western side
of this
depression
forced sea
water South
at the time
of high tide
The high
tides in
combination
to the low
pressure
system
worsened
the effects of
the storm.
The storm hit
the South
East of
England and
the South
West of the
Netherlands
The Thames
Barrier was
constructed