WATCH ON THE THAMES

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 248, 10 January 1928, Page 9

WATCH ON THE THAMES

Anxious Riversiders

TIDE CAUSES NO FLOODING

British Wireless—Press Assn.—Copyright Received 11.32 a.m. RUGBY, Monday. THIS afternoon, high tide in the Thames was anxiously awaited by riverside inhabitants, and the barricades were keenly watched by officials and workmen. The tide, however, caused no further floodings.

VXTA.TER trickled through the barricades at Lambeth, but these were quickly strengthened. No further overflow is expected, if rain and wincl hold off, and the river should subside normally after to-morrow. Lord Desborough, chairman of the Thames Conservancy, reviewed the flood situation at a meeting of the Conservancy to-day. He attributed Friday's disastrous floods, in which 14 lives were lost, to an inrush of water from the North Sea, “amounting almost to a tidal bore.” He said that the wet period preceding Christmas Day resulted in the flow of the river rising from its maximum capacity of 4,500,000,000 gallons to 9,000,000,000 gallons. That was a very serious amount of water. Then came the heavy snowfall of Christmas. If the snow had thawed quickly those 9,000,000,000 gallons would have been increased to such an extent that there would have been a record flood. Fortunately, the snow did not thaw until the 9,000,000,000 gallons had fallen to 4,600,000,000 gallons. In his opinion, the volume of water in the river had very little to do with the disaster. Dealing with the question of measures to prevent a repetition of such occurrences. Lord Desborough thought the remedy was to build a barrage across the estuary of the Thames, from Tilbury to Gravesend, with locks in it. It is stated that the Government may set up a commission of inquiry into the causes of the disaster, if the river and municipal authorities concerned desire such an investigation. —A. and N.Z.

HORROR OF SITUATION

BRAVE RESCUER DROWNED HUNDREDS HOMELESS LONDON, Sunday. Details of the flood which are accumulating emphasise the horror of the tragic happening, which Is Increased by the total unpreparedness of the victims. “Good God, the river Is overflowing! Up, quickl The children!'* cried one woman to her sleeping husband. This is typical of the first warning received in many homes. The terror was increased by the failure of the lighting. Galloping mounted police gave warning in many cases. Other police and firemen were quickly on the scene, otherwise many more would have been drowned, as they were sleeping in basements, which are common in the poor districts near the river. , Trapped men and women In Westminster must have known that their end had come as surely as do sailors in a sunken submarine. The heroine and the hero of the tragedy were Miss Franke Isse and Mr. Frank Willsher. The woman awoke to And her bedroom half-full of water and the furniture floating. She escaped through a window, where she found a boy drowning. She tied a rope to the boy and hauled him to safety. Mr. Willsher lost his life trying to rescue people from a basement in Westminster. He was a champion swimmer. He brought some men and women from a basement to the upper floor and then returned to the basement. But the door was banged and held by the force of the water and Mr. Willsher was unable to escape again. A Yeoman of the Guard, sleeping in the dungeon in the Tower of London, awoke to find his trestle bed floating. He jumped out and fell into 4ft. of water. Hundreds of people, including many children, are homeless, hungry and scantily-clad. They are crowding relief depots, where many firms and individuals are sending gifts of food and clothing. Nearly a thousand homes are uninhabitable, owing to the water tarrying in creosote and tar from river*de mills. Most of the bedding in the houses affected has been ruined. The owners of poor homes will be the greatest sufferers. Beds and other furniture are covered with fiithy slime and pianos and other valuables have been spoiled.

The owners of some of the wrecked homes earned considerable sums of money by charging fees to curious people inspecting the damage. Women stepped from luxurious motor-cars and paid half-crowns to see chambers of horrors in real life, where the wrecked homes were filled with broken doors, overturned furniture, and drying bedding. DAMAGE TO PICTURES Much of the damage is not serious as was at first feared. Thus alarmist reports spoke of damage to pictures in the Tate Gallery running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. It is true that many sketches by T. M. W. Turner were engulfed, but Sir Charles Holmes, director of the National Gallery, says the sketches have survived better than anyone hoped. Most of the sketches are pencil outlines. * The real treasures were ex* 5 hibited on the ground floor, where they were uninjured. The sketches are drying nicely, as they were promptly laid out on the floor of the gallery, with the corners pinned down to prevent crinkling. A dozen Landseer paintings were seriously damaged. This is probably the worst loss sustained by the Tate Gallery. Water poured through a breach in the river-wall into the Hurlington polo ground and on to the tennis courts and the Ranelagh gardens, where the water was like a river. The bursting of the seawall at Maldon, Essex, also caused serious damage. Fifty motor-cars parked by dancers near Maldon were surrounded by 4ft. of water. The river Colne overflower its banks at Colchester. —A. and N.Z.