<r The Last Gap:
a Flood Crew Moves In
for the Kill
A torrent still charges like a ma
levolent beast through the narrow gap
between pilings and sandbags, but
Holland's "water-builders" have al
most closed the dike breach. Soon
the boats will push woven willow
rafts (background) into the snarling
current and sink them with stones;
such mats keep the water from gully
ing the bottom. Onto this foundation
of weighted mats the workers will
sink prefabricated concrete caissons
to complete the closure (page 399).
Nationaal Foto-Persbureau
4' Dutch Soldiers Win
a Sea Battle
Troops from Belgium, Great Brit
ain, France, and the United States
helped the Netherlands lick its old
enemy, the sea, in 1953. Around a
storm-punched break, these men build
an emergency dam. Its horseshoe
shape, as Dutchmen learned centuries
ago, best foils currents. When the
dam is tight, the original dike can be
mended.
394 Black Star
