LONDON FLOODS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 87, 11 January 1928, Page 9

LONDON FLOODS

PRECAUTIONS PROVE ADEQUATE REPETITION OF TROUBLE NOT EXPECTED MEASURES OF RELIEF FOR SUFFERERS Every danger point has been carefully watched by the London authorities, and the precau- ./• tions taken everywhere have proved adequate. It is not anticipated that there will be a repetition of Saturday’s disaster. By Telege a ph.—Press association. Copyright. Rugby, January 9. High tide in the Thames at 3 o’clock, this morning caused no further flooding, although in places the water reached within a few inches of ‘he embankment top. Every danger point was carefully watched by the authorities, and particularly a spot near Lambeth Bridge, where the most serious breach occurred on Saturday morning, but the precautions’ taken everywhere proved adequate. Although the tides this afternoon and to-merroxv morning xvould normally be higher than those of the preceding days, the authorities anticipate that these will be passed without a repetition of trouble. The weather "reports, hexvever, indicate the posibilitys of further gale conditions, and full precautions will consequently be taken, since the gales of last week, by piilng up the tides, xvere the principal factor, in conjunction with the swollen state of the river, in causing.-Saturday's disaster. .... —. ■ - — . . ’ This afternoon high tide in the Thames was anxiously awaited by riverside inhabitants, and barricades were keenly xvatched by officials and -•workmen; 'The tide, however, caused no further flooding. Water trickled through the barricades at Lambeth, but these xvere quickly strengthened. No further overflow is expected, if rain and wind hold off, and the river should subside normally after to-mor-row.

Extensive measures are being taken for relief of those who have had to leave their homes, and those who have lost their belongings. The Mayors of various boroughs of London are co-op-erating with tlie Lord Mayor in administering one central fund, to which donations are coming in freely. Those rendered destitute have been supplied with immediate necessities of food and clothing by church societies and soup kitchens.

The Lord Mavor of London has opened a Mansion House relief fund for sufferers,. and in this the funds started by the various London municipalities are likely to be merged. The, King and Queen have sent messages of sympathy and cheques for £lOO and £5O respectively. . The floods in the upper reaches of the Thames are receding. The trustees of the Tate Gallery, the basements of which were flooded on Saturday, report that comparatively little damage was done. Paintings and drawings, including a large'number of Turner sketches, ranging from completed water-colours to pencil and chalk notes,, often on both sides of the paper; are being dried successfully.—British Official Wireless. “ALMOST A TIDAL BORE” BARRAGE OVER ESTUARY RECOMMENDED Rugby, January 9. 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 fourteen lives were lost, to an inrush of xv r ater from the North Sea, "amounting almost to • a tidal bore.” He said that the wet period preceding ' Christmas . Day _ had resulted in the flow of the river rising from its maximum capacity of four thousand five hundred million. gallons to nine thousand million gallons. That xvas a very serious amount of xvater. Then came the heavy snowfall of Christmas. If the snow had thawed quickly, those nine thousand million gallons xvould have been increased to such an extent that there would have been a -record flood. Fortunately, the snow did not thaw until nine thousand million gallons had fallen to four thousand six hundred millions. 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 maxset up a Commission of Inquiry- into the causes of the disaster if the various river and municipal authorities concerned desire such an investigation.—British Official Wireless. London, January 9. Speaking at a meeting'of the Thames Conserrancy Board, the chairman, Lord Desborough, said that Saturday’s was the highest tide ever known on the Thames. The only way to check the inflow of such tides was the adoption of a scheme he had recommended 20 years ago, to barrage the river from Tilbury to Gravesend. This, would pro- . dace a beautiful reach of water from Tilbury to Teddington, always clean and deep and usable its whole length. CO-OPERATIVE RELIEF FUND DANGER OF BASEMENT DWELLINGS London, January 9. The Lord Mayor of London has conferred with the Mayors of all the affected districts and decided on a cooperative relief fund, to which cash and donations are pouring, as well as large quantities of bedding and clothing. The Bishop of London, speaking at Bournemouth, said that if the flood had shown the dismal folly, wickedness, and danger of basement dwellings which had'resulted in their being swept away, the calamity had not been in x’ain.