WINTER'S FIERCE GRIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19832, 30 December 1927, Page 9

WINTER'S FIERCE GRIP.

EFFECTS OF BLIZZAEI).

LONDON OUTLETS BLOCKED.

.WALLS OF FROZEN SNOW.

KOADS STREWN WITH CARS.

FLOOD DISASTER FEARED.

By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright,

(Received December 29, 5.5 p.m.) Sun. LONDON. Dec. 28

The general disorganisation of the trunk telephones, the telegraphic delays and the isolation of various snow-bound districts have hitherto prevented the realisation of the state of affairs created by the blizzard.

Tt is now certain that the South of England had an experience unprecedented in living memory. Twelve of the important outlets from London are still Mocked by floods or by frozen drifts of snow. One of the deepest of these is on Sevenonks Road, whore the barrier is 15ft. thick. On some roads that were inipassah!e yesterday passages have been cut through the drifts, and in this way communication between London and the isolated city of St. Alba lis- was restored to-day. Eight roads are open, but necessitate careful crawling, owing to the icy surface on the hills. Frost Congeals Snowdrifts. Motorists who tried to reach London relate that they tried road after road, travelling at a walking pace and frequently shovelling; aside smaller drifts. Eventually they were driven back by a colossal drift packed level with the roadsides, and finally gave it up and went to London by train. All the roads are Strewn with abandoned cars and motor-cycles. Their occupants had to walk for miles in seeking refuge. Some of the drifts are miles long. A hard frost has now set in, rendering the removal of the snow an almost impossible task. The complete restoration of the road communications is unlikely until a thaw. On the other hand, a continued frost is the chief hope of preventing disastrous floods in the Thames .Valley.

The Thames and its tributaries are still rising. Runnvmede is submerged. If the Know melts before the flood water has dispersed, thousands oF tons more water will be released. Nevertheless, many districts are praying for a thaw to remove the enormous drifts which have completely cut them off from the world, resulting in a shortage of food supplies, in spite of the use of rafts, punts, snow-ploughs and sledges.

Train Still Imprisoned. Tales of motor-buses marooned in various districts are frequent. The passengers were often forced to spend the uigbt on the buses or to walk to the nearest town, perhaps only to find that rail communication was blocked. In consequence, some persons were held up for two days. The railways generally report that conditions are returning to normal, although there are many delays owing to the points and signals being frozen. There arc snowdrifts on some lines, notably in Hampshire, in the neighbourhood of Basingstoke. which caught the full force of the blizzard which completely blocked the line. A train was snowed up on Christinas night at Alton, and has not yet been released. The floods completely surround Canterbury, where 500 houses are flooded and 2000 people ara living in bedrooms and are supplied with food from boats. Villages in the vicinity are isolated. The homeless people are being accommodated at the Deanery and the barracks. Ihe Mayor is raising a relief fund. Fire Engine Gives Up Task. Road traffic in Cornwall and Devon, where snow is very rare, is completely disorganised, and coastwise steamers are supplying food. The fire brigade from Bishop's Stortford'was unable to get through the snow when it was called to Stanton Lordship, , an historic Elizabethan mansion in Hertfordshire, dating from 1546, where the Duke of Wellington lived after Waterloo. The brigade from Ware succeeded in reaching the mansion after digging a path through a mile of snowdrifts several feet high. The occupants were forced to watch the house burn. The floors fell in and stopped the efforts of the domestic servants to save the valuables. The London boroughs are employing thousands of the unemployed to clear the Streets, as a cost of £SOOO a day.