All Saints Flood of 1570

Allerheiligenvloed 1570
Allerheiligenvloed 1570
Dijkdoorbraak Allerheiligenvloed
Dijkdoorbraak Allerheiligenvloed

The All Saints’ Flood of 1570 was one of the greatest flood disasters in Dutch history. On November 1, the dikes broke and large parts of the country were flooded.

In Friesland more than 3,000 people died and in Flanders four entire villages disappeared under a thick layer of silt. Five-sixths of the province of Holland was under water. A number of Zeeland villages and a large area around Antwerp, the Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe, was permanently under water. Entire herds and barns full of winter supplies were destroyed. It is estimated that a total of more than 20,000 people died and many tens of thousands more became homeless. Both the water level and the number of victims were many times higher than in the flood disaster of 1953, which killed 1,836 people. Only the Saint Felix flood of 1530, of which the exact number of victims is unknown, possibly claimed even more lives.

Allerheiligenvloed 1570
Allerheiligenvloed 1570