Deadliest flood in the History of mankind in 1362 скачать в хорошем качестве

Deadliest flood in the History of mankind in 1362

Few great weather events in British history were as devastating as the "Grote Mandrenke", the great drowning of men, which took place in mid January 1362. A huge south-westerly gale originating in the Atlantic Ocean swept across Ireland, Britain, the Low Countries, and northern Germany, causing at least 25,000 deaths. The first warning of the storm came from Ireland, where homes and buildings in Dublin were devastated by the high winds. Next to experience the brunt of the storm was southern England, where thousands of trees were blown down. Massive damage was caused to the few high buildings, notably churches, and many spires or towers were destroyed. Most famously, the wooden spire of Norwich Cathedral fell through its roof. Worse was to come. As the storm reached the North Sea, it combined with high tides to produce the phenomenon most feared by coastal communities, a storm surge. Ports all along the east coast of England, and across the North Sea in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, were destroyed, as the power of the wind and waters changed the shape of the coastline. The great storm left another, more positive, legacy. The Zuiderzee, the vast inland body of water in the Netherlands, was partly formed by this and other weather disasters of the Middle Ages. Once stabilised by the building of dykes and other sea defences, it became a vital hub for maritime trade, contributing to the later rise of the Dutch Empire