Foulness Island level, which was above the danger level for this part of the Essex coast. This level in itself was not a danger to the island, as the sea walls had been raised and strengthened between 1951 and 1952 by the War Office, and were above mean sea level. However, the high water was accompanied by strong winds, creating large waves, which broke over the top of the defences, washing away the earth banks on the inland side of the walls. Two sections of the wall breached, from Rugwood Head to Asplin's Head on the eastern side of the island, and
Piracy off the coast of Somalia set sail from Djibouti and was headed to Mogadishu. This was alleged to be the first "successful" hijacking of a large vessel since 2012. While initially the pirate crew demanded a ransom, the ship and its crew were released with no ransom given after the crew learned that the ship had been hired by Somali businessmen. Piracy off the coast of Somalia Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War, around 2000. Fishing communities responded by forming armed groups to deter the invaders by hijacking commercial