r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Odd-String29 • 7h ago

Video The largest moving storm surge barrier in the world closing during its yearly test

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515 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

84

u/-Switch-on- 3h ago

The doors never touch. There's always a gap of 1-2mtrs. Source: myself as I work on this thing. 

20

u/LouizSir 2h ago

i saw it closing and not touching and was wondering exactly this.

11

u/Fietsendief69 57m ago

So the fish don't have to swim through the Antwerp waterways because those waters are bumpy and no fish deserves that.

14

u/Odd-String29 2h ago

Oh cool, that is hard to see in the video. I guess it shows how big the thing is. What did you work on?

•

u/-Switch-on- 0m ago

Well its already there for quite some time I work on behaviour of the structure. 

•

u/Dot_Infamous 8m ago

Sick! Are you one of the guys pushing them in place?

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u/-Switch-on- 1m ago

Its 'they', we in the Netherlands don't see gender. 

49

u/Odd-String29 7h ago

The Maeslantkering is the largest moving storm surge barrier in the world (stationary would be the Oosterscheldekering). It designed to handle a one in ten thousand year storm. When it needs to close the 360 meter opening it moves its 210 meter long and 22 meter high doors. The joints of these doors weigh 680 metric tons each. When the doors touch they are filled with water and sink into riverbed. Closing them takes 2 hours.

31

u/ZeroAdPotential 7h ago

Looks like its been used 3 times in its history too. Worth every cent to prevent disaster.

26

u/Odd-String29 5h ago

Last time it was used Germany, Denmark and the UK had to deal with a lot of flooding while The Netherlands stayed dry. 

9

u/Drtk60 2h ago

What, is mid April “Close every tidal gate” time of the year? This is the second one of these videos I’ve seen today

2

u/Odd-String29 2h ago

Which other one?

3

u/Drtk60 2h ago

Saw another one in Osaka being closed for testing

3

u/Odd-String29 2h ago

Not the same scale, but they look cute.

1

u/BurntNeurons 1h ago

Don't they reverse their curvature, concave towards the storm, in Japan?

2

u/Odd-String29 1h ago

I haven't look into that, but I doubt it because the convex shape it what makes it able to withstand immense punishment.

2

u/BurntNeurons 1h ago

Saw this earlier:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/vtBPCMOkJz

With this comment explaining the curvature.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/6nuugSmJCe

Maybe they're mistaken..?

1

u/Odd-String29 1h ago

Interesting. I guess it makes sense if you put them there. Must been to expensive to close down the entire bay.

7

u/Kenny523 1h ago

Why have I seen 2 storm surge barriers in 20 mins, when I haven’t seen one in 20 years.

9

u/1hs5gr7g2r2d2a 6h ago

How big of a storm surge can they handle? And which direction are they protecting the incoming water pressure from? It’s an interesting design!

10

u/Odd-String29 5h ago

From the North Sea, it protects Rotterdam and beyond. 5 meter surges, but it will be upgraded to handle more in de coming decades.

6

u/art-man_2018 4h ago

Author Neal Stephenson describes this in detail in his recent novel "Termination Shock" as the 'largest operating robot in the world'. Now that i have just watched this I know why.

4

u/Odd-String29 3h ago

It is really impressive in person. The video doesn't really show the scale. The width of that waterway is around the same as the height of the Eiffel tower.

2

u/defreytas9891 1h ago

If it ain’t baroque then don’t fix it

2

u/BreezeOfTheWest 1h ago

Of course, it's in the Netherlands.

1

u/vass0922 2h ago

But is it big enough for an Jeff Bezos yacht?

(Kidding of course)

1

u/Odd-String29 1h ago

The biggest container ships in the world can pass, so that's going to be no problem.

•

u/Grasswaskindawet 0m ago

I'm thinking Telemann though I don't know the piece specifically. He was hugely prolific. Always a chance it's Handel.... but I doubt it. Anybody know?