On the night of January 31, 1953, the coastal dikes in the southwest failed to stop the fierce flood tide, and the Netherlands suffered an unprecedented flood. The flood claimed a total of 1,835 lives and left 72,000 people homeless. Today, 56 years later, a film called "The Storm" (De Storm) recreates the worst natural disaster in the Netherlands' modern history. "No one has ever tried to make a film like this before," the 62-year-old director Ben Sombogaart told AFP before the film was released. "It is very complicated, in addition to technical problems, but also because many survivors are still alive." The 1953 flood flooded 200,000 hectares of land and 3,000 houses in the provinces of Zeeland, North Brabant and South Holland. The film "The Storm" tells the story of 19-year-old Julia trying to find her young son who was separated from her in the flood. In the process of searching for her son, Julia was helped by a handsome soldier who had saved her life before when a flood hit. The film truly shows Julia desperately looking for her child in the dark and cold water. The flood water was higher than the roofs and the bodies of cattle and sheep were floating everywhere. All the outdoor shots were shot in a small town called Tielrode in Belgium. In order to recreate the scene of that year, part of the town was flooded for six weeks last fall. "It is very difficult to shoot in the water," said the director. "It takes three times the normal shooting time. And it is very cold. The actors need to swim a lot." Director Ben Sandbergat was only 6 years old in 1953.