“De Stenen Man”: strong guardian or weak link?

Abstract

De ‘Stenen Man’, standing on top of the Westerzeedijk near Harlingen, was built to commemorate the construction of the sea defenses. However, there is reason to believe this monument to flood safety endangers the stability of the dike. In our study, we quantify the effect of the statue on the failure probability of the dike. This is achieved through a combination of archive research, ground survey, and probabilistic assessment within the new legal framework. Results show that the monument increases the probability of failure by inward macro-instability tenfold. Therefore, further study into opportunities for reinforcement is recommended.