Number of deaths of 1855 flood upgraded after 150 years

Town holds memorial service

VEENENDAAL, the Netherlands – A new brochure published by the local historical society reports that eleven people drowned in the municipality in the Flood of 1855. So far, historians always had claimed nine inhabitants died in the inundation of the community.

Veenendaal, which was founded as a peat digger’s colony in the 1600s, suffered a number of inundations over the centuries, usually because of drainage problems. Its 1855 casualties drowned when their boats capsized in mishaps during evacuation efforts.

The central Dutch town plans to hold a memorial service for this tragedy in March.