STILL SPREADING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 May 1943, Page 3

STILL SPREADING

GREAT FLOODS IN WESTERN GERMANY CAUSED BY R.A.F. BREACHING OF DAMS. WAR CABINET OFFERS CONGRATULATIONS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, May 18. The War Cabinet has instructed me to convey to all who shared in the preparation and execution of Sunday night’s operations—particularly Wing Commander Gibson and his squadron—their congratulations on the great success achieved,” stated the Secretary of State for Air (Sir A. Sinclair) in a message to the Commander-in-Chief of the Bomber Command. ‘‘That the attack was pressed home in the face of strong resistance is a testimony alike to the tactical resource and energy of those who planned it, to the gallantry and determination of the air crews and to the excellence of British design and workmanship. The War Cabinet has noted with satisfaction the damage done to German war power.” Great floods caused by breaching of the huge Mohne and Eder dams are still spreading. Reconnaissance photographs taken today show that the Eder waters have now reached some outlying districts of Cassel, 35 miles away, and are covering the flat country around . On the way they flooded the generator house, the switch park and transformer enclosures of the Bringhausen power station. Seven hours later most of this water had drained away, but photographs of the switch transformer plant showed silting up, with part of the northern section washed away. The embankment forming the northern edge of a compensating basin between Hemfurth and Affoldern has been destroyed at several points and the whole valley was under water. At Affoldern a power station was flooded and an embankment demolished. The whole area between Wabern and Glensberg, some 16 miles downstream from the dam, is completely under water. A railway station and sidings at Wabern were flooded and an embankment broken away. Isolated buildings could be seen above water, but railways, roads and bridges have been completely submerged. There appeared to be much water still pouring from the dam. The breach at the Eder dam is as big as that made at the Mohne dam. Though the full extent of the flooding caused by the breach of the Mohne dam is not yet known, water is spreading towards the centre of the Ruhr. It must have covered a great area by now, since the reservoir, which contained 134 million tons of water, is now nearly empty, states the Air Ministry News Service. Even yesterday it was known that much havoc had been caused. HAVOC EXTENDS - • « IN VITAL INDUSTRIAL VALLEYS. FACTORIES & WAR BASES INUNDATED. LONDON, May 19. Sixty hours after the Royal Air Force beached the Mohne and Eder dams a picture is beginning to emerge of the damage which the floods are causing to Germany’s war industry and communications as the millions of tons of water move farther down the two indus-

trial valleys. Communications and factories are being inundated, and great cities like Cassel and Duisburg are being threatened. It was officially stated last night that examination of photographs showed that parts of the important industrial town of Cassel, in the Weser Valley, had been flooded. Floods were also seen spreading toward the centre of the Ruhr (between Dortmund and Duisburg). The Air Ministry news bulletin says that the Ruhr flood must have covered a great area by now, as the reservoir is now nearly empty. Even on Monday it was known that much havoc had been caused.

Reports reaching London this morning indicate that at least 54 towns and villages have flooded as a result of the bombing of the dams. SAPPERS CALLED IN. The German Army has rushed a detachment of 9000 sappers to the flooded areas to help with the rescue work. Thousands of people are camping on high ground along the rivers Ruhr and Weser, and hail and rainstorms and freezing temperatures are adding to their discomfort. Cassel is practically an island, while other towns, including Dortmund, are knee-deep in water Cassel, which is 35 miles from the Eder dam, is one of the biggest industrial centres in Westphalia, producing aircraft, U-boats, synthetic petrol and many other war products. Aeroplanes and equipment on the lowlying Duisburg aerodrome are being evacuated and shipping from Duisburg’s great inland docks is being taken up-stream to the safety of the Rhine. In Neheim, in the upper Ruhr, houses are awash to the second story. Practically all live stock was washed away. The German officials have barred the neutral correspondents from giving any detailed reports. A message from Switzerland says that apart from the industrial damage large crops will be destroyed. ATTACK ON DAMS

MADE BY NOT MORE THAN 19 LANCASTERS. MR CHURCHILL’S DISCLOSURE. LONDON, May 19. Mr Churchill, in his address to the United States Congress, disclosed that not more than 10 fourengined Lancasters had taken part in the devastating attack on the German dams. More news of the havoc caused by the bursting of the dams has come in today, after the taking of further’ photographs by reconnaissance aircraft. Floods from the Mohne Dam have extended to a point 60 miles below the reservoir and have reached the heart of the great industrial part of the Ruhr Valley. They have spread over fields, crops, roads, and railways and washed away bridges and flooded buildings. An important railway viaduct between Dortmund and Dusseldorf! has been damaged, Floods from the Eder Dam have reached a point about 50 miles below the

dam and have also caused terrific damage. Cassel, 35 miles from the dam, has been invaded by the flood waters. Parts of the town have suffered badly.