A multi-billion dollar complex of coastal construction protects the delta-estuarine region of the south-west Netherlands from a repeat of the 1953storm-surge flooding that killed 1835.Eight documented storm-surge flood disasters date back to 1717.The Delta Project became effective in terms of flood protection in 1986, but sections of it are still under construction. One of the world's greatest civil-engineering projects, its 11 major and multiple secondary components have the function of (1) closing off three main estuaries which shorten the coastline by approximately 720 km, (2) creating a non-tidal waterway, the ScheIdt-Rhine link, which facilitates inland shipping between Antwerp and Rotterdam (120 km), two of the largest ports in the world, and (3) ensuring the partial environmental preservation of the Delta area. ; Watson, I. and Finkl, C.W., Jnr.,I990. State of the art in storm-surge protection: The Netherlands Delta Project. Joumal ofCoastal Research, 6(3), 739-764. Fort Lauderdale (florida). ISSN 0749-02080.