Learn Dutch: Doordat de zeespiegel stijgt, overstromen veel kusten. - Because the sea level rises, many coasts flood.

Doordat is used for an objective cause or a physical fact that leads to an inevitable result (the sea rises, causing a flood). Omdat is used for a subjective reason or a human choice (e.g., I stay home because I am tired). In daily spoken Dutch, people often use omdat for everything, but in written or formal Dutch, doordat is strictly used for pure cause-and-effect like in this sentence.

Why does the second half of the sentence start with the verb overstromen?

This happens because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first part of the sentence (Doordat de zeespiegel stijgt) acts as the first chunk of information. Therefore, the main verb of the next part (overstromen) must immediately follow it to take the second position, coming before its subject (veel kusten).

Why is the verb stijgt at the very end of the first clause?

Doordat is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which always pushes its conjugated verb (stijgt) to the end of that specific clause, right before the comma.

The word zeespiegel translates to 'sea level', but what does it literally mean?

It literally translates to 'sea mirror' (zee + spiegel). Dutch uses the word spiegel to describe the flat, reflective surface of water, which is how it came to refer to the surface or 'level' of the sea.