In 1953 , Zierikzee was damaged by the catastrophic North Sea flood of 1953 . The English town of Hatfield sent help and a friendship has developed . The two towns have been twinned . In 1997 the municipality of Zierikzee merged into that of Schouwen-Duiveland . In 2015 , the last surviving example of the city 's defensive cannons ; cast in 1552 , was donated to the city by the British coastguard . The coastguard had recovered it from a commercial diver , during a criminal investigation . The diver had found it off the Kent coast
North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
Zierikzee