Living behind the dykes

Living behind the dykes is not something we are aware of every day.
Only when the water in the rivers is very high and it's on the news we realise that we live in a country that has been taken from the sea.

The dykes protect us very well.

Our house is behind the dykes, but it's on a higher level than the surrounding grounds. So we won't get wet feet, as we say.
It's an old fashioned way to protect people from the water if something is happening with the dykes.

The chance something happens is very low.
The dykes can cope with high and low water.
We've only once had a bit if a stressful time because of high water. It was the only time the schools were closed. It was before we were born, but some of my brothers remember it.

It's high water now, but it's not too high for the dykes.
There is surveillance though, because water can soak the dykes so they start to leak.
Men walk past the dykes to inspect each metre very carefully, and today an F16 flew over the dykes with special equipment under it to see "through" the dyke. That way they can find out weak spots and leakage.
All was safe though.

Our school is at a higher point of town and there's absolutely no danger at all.
Our house is safe too. The lower grounds around it can collect lots of water (which never happened) and we can go easily over safe roads to the bridge over the canal to the high part of town.