Truemors
Update: LONDON — A powerful storm in the North Sea kicked up surging waters that forced the Netherlands to close floodgates at Europe's largest port and Britain to evacuate residents in eastern England on Friday.
In the Netherlands, the new Maeslant Barrier protecting the mouth of Rotterdam Port was closed for the first time under storm conditions, halting all ship traffic, officials said.
Fears of widespread flooding in eastern England have diminished as tides peaked without major breaches of sea defences.
High water in the Norfolk town of Great Yarmouth passed without major damage being caused, and people have been told they can return to their homes.
The Environment Agency said surge levels were expected to be nearly 8in (20cm) lower than originally feared.
But residents living along the Kent coast have been told to remain vigilant as high tides are expected later.
Waves up to 20 feet (6 meters) high were rolling up against sea defenses in Lowestoft, England, the most easterly point of Britain about 120 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of London on the North Sea coast.
"It's quite spectacular," said Lowestoft resident Chris Warnes, 55. "I've lived here all my life and never seen anything like it.
"We are sad people being down here in the cold watching the waves break but it's such an amazing sight. I was trying to get to Norwich today to go to work but can't get out of Lowestoft."
Surges are caused mainly by the action of wind on the surface of the sea, with barometric pressure a secondary factor. When pressure decreases by one millibar, sea level rises by one centimetre. Thus, a deep depression with a central pressure of about 960 mb causes sea level to rise half a metre above the level it would have been had pressure been about average (1013 mb). When air pressure is high, sea level falls correspondingly. The greatest storm surge on record for the North Sea occurred on 31 January and 1 February 1953. The surge height reached 2.74 m at Southend in Essex, 2.97 m at King's Lynn in Norfolk and 3.36 m in the Netherlands. The storm that caused the disastrous surge at the end of January 1953 was among the worst to visit the UK in the 20th century. Hurricane-force winds had blown down more trees in Scotland than were normally felled in a year. A car ferry, the Princess Victoria, on passage from Stranraer in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland, sank with the loss of 133 lives - only 41 of the passengers and crew survived. From Yorkshire to the Thames Estuary, coastal defences had been pounded by the sea and given way under the onslaught.
Around the UK, the effect of a strong wind coupled with very low pressure can be to raise sea level in eastern England more than two metres. Fortunately, though, large positive surges tend to favour mid-tide. They rarely coincide with high water.
A three-metre tidal wave is predicted to surge down the English Channel in the next 12 hours posing an "extreme danger to life and property", experts have warned.
Coupled with storms and high tides, the wave could leave swathes of the east coast under water, according to the Environment Agency.
A combination of gale force winds off the coast of Scotland and high tides are expected to cause floods which could breach sea defences.
• Nine severe flood warnings issued by Environment Agency
• Surge expected to hit east coast in next 12 hours
• Police on standby to evacuate homes
• Dartford Creek and Thames barriers closed
The Thames Barrier will be closed at 8pm to protect against the tidal surge
The surge is expected to hit the Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex coastline from early tomorrow morning.
About 8,000 properties in Great Yarmouth and 1,800 in Lowestoft could be at risk.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called a special COBRA Cabinet Office meeting to coordinate an emergency reponse.
John Healey, minister of state for local communities, said: "COBRA will be on full alert throughout the night, and the Prime Minister will be keeping in close touch and keeping on top of things."
In a statement to the Commons tonight, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said police were on standby in the areas most likely to be affected to evacuate homes if necessary.
"A tidal surge of up to three metres is making its way down the North Sea which could coincide with peak high-tides," he said.
A massive tidal surge that could lead to disastrous flooding is threatening to hit the east coast.
A flood expert told Sky News unless swift action is taken "we could have a significant number of deaths", as evacuations from the areas at risk began.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told the House of Commons a surge "of up to three metres is making its way down the North Sea".
Baroness Young, Environment Agency chief executive, told Sky News: "A surge wave is expected between seven and eight o'clock tomorrow morning, with Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft likely to be the worst hit."
Eight severe flood warnings have been announced across East Anglia, the Norfolk Broads and the coast south of Great Yarmouth. Police evacuations have begun in the latter.
Norfolk Police Anne Campbell told Sky News: "We have taken the decision to evacuate some of the most honourable people in the Great Yarmouth area ahead of this expected high water early tomorrow morning."
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