THAMES FLOOD

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVIII, Issue 45, 20 January 1928, Page 8

THAMES FLOOD

INQUEST ON VICTIMS.

UNUSUAL CONDITIONS. (By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) Received January 19, 1.30 p.m. LONDON, Jan. 18. At the inquest on the ten Westminster flood victims, tho coroner, giving his verdict, said that lio was not satisfied that sufficient attention had been paid to the safety of certain sections of the Thames Embankment. A policeman gave evidence of water often jutting from tho walls in high tides. He did not report it because lie did not think it was dangerous. The town' clerk of Westminster said that there was a breach of 165 feet in Grosvenor Road and two breaches in the Duke of Westminster’s property. The council controlled neither. The London County Council’s chief engineer gave evidence that tho river-, front was regularly surveyed and' showed no instability. Tho tide at Westminster on January 7 was at least a foot above the century’s record and was unexpectedly phenomenal. Water jets had never occurred sufficiently to cause alarm where the walls had now collapsed. The coroner emphasised that the disaster was due to unprecedented conditions. Tho water heaped at the Thames mouth simultaneously with an unusual tide and an enormous amount of water was descending. Therefore, it w.oukl be unreasonable to blame anybody.— Sydney Sun cable.