Two Storms Collide
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, Feb. 3New breaks in centuries-old dikes and
heavy snows heaped additional misery today on the flood-wracked Low Countries.
Official and unofficial totals placed the number of dead in the century's worst storm
at 1542.
But the disaster united Europe as politics never could.
Small boats in numbers recalling the days of Dunkirk worked slowly thru icy,
debris-laden waters to isolated islands and villages still cut off by the flood waters, seeking sur
vivors.
THE WASHINGTON DAILY NEWS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1953—3
Crumbling Dikes and Heavy
Snow Pile Woes on Holland
United Press
(See pictures, Pages 22-23.)
Under the leadership of U. S. Lieut. Gen. Manton S. Eddy, named "military assistant com
mander" by Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, aid poured in from the U. S., Britain, France, Canada,
Sweden and South Africa.
Holland was mobilized as if for war.
Prime Minister Willem Drees told the nation:
"There is solidarity against the elements and we shall win."
Mr. Drees told Parliament 627 were known dead in The Netherlands.
Other, unofficial, figures placed the total at 700, not counting 200 reported dead at the village
of Stavenisse and 180 others at the village of Oude Tonge.
Deaths from the same storm in Great Britain were placed at 445; in Belgium 20, and Ger-
^many, 7.
An 18-hour snow storm iso
lated four small villages in
southeast Holland just outside
the flood zone. Hundreds of res
cue workers were digging thru
seven feet of snow to aid the
towns of Holset, Harles, Kotte-
sen and Gamerig.
The nation's centuries-old dike
system, weakened and undermined
by the h u r r i c a n e-driven tides,
ripped anew last night.
The new breaches brought a new
rash of SOS signals.
The snow and bitter cold in the
wake of the week-end hurricanes
and full-moon tides were heaping
disaster on disaster and it was
feared that still more was to come.
Rescue workers said that unless
the thousands of homeless were
sheltered soon, many would die of
exposure.
Epidemics also were feared.
STILL MAROONED
The burgomasters of Bruinisse
and Oosterland on the island of
Schouwen warned in a radio SOS
shortly after 3 p. m. (10 a. m. EST)
that unless their towns received
immediate aid "there will be a great
many casualties."
They asked for helicopters and
amphibious planes.
The burgomaster of Bruinisse ra
dioed earlier that the dikes protect
ing the town had collapsed.
More than 48 hours after the
seas first began to overwhelm the
dikes and flood 2000 square miles
of Holland, survivors still were ma
rooned in trees, on floating debris
or in the upper floors of houses.
Thru the sleet-filled night the
Dutch airforce, guided by signal
lights flashed by villagers, dropped
rubber boats and medical supplies
at critical points, particularly on
Schouwen Island.
Dutch fishing vessels were taking
The terrific winds which drove billions of tons of water down thru
the English Channel, overflowing the coasts of England and the Low
lands, were born of two giant storms colliding south of Iceland.
An area of high pressure built up near Thule, Greenland, last week
and slowly moved toward Iceland. Meanwhile, a low pressure air mass,
moving up from the Azores, approached Greenland from the south.
Abruptly, stopped by the high pressure air mass, it turned and began
to move toward the North Sea.
The two streams of wind merged to form a 100-mile-an-hour gale,
pushing North Sea waters into the narrow English Channel.
Just as a funnel overflows if you pour too fast, the wind-driven wa
ters came racing down the channel, bursting centuries-old dikes and
flooding the country for miles inland.
off survivors among the island's
10,000 population.
ARDENNES
While rescue operations were
pushed in the flooded southwest,
other rescue workers were digging
thru huge snowdrifts in the south
east near Limburg where four vil
lages have been isolated since Satur
day by a blizzard that raged 18
hours.
The blizzards extended to the
Ardennes corner of Belgium where
the wartime Battle of the Bulge
was fought under similar conditions
in 1944-45. Latest weather reports
indicated the snowfall was slowing
down.
The captain of a vessel which
last night rescued 400 persons from
the Tholen Island village of Stave
nisse said the town's mayor told
him at least 200 persons died there.
A military launch confirmed this
figure, but it was not listed imme
diately in the official Dutch death
toll.
Queen Juliana ordered her luxury
yacht Piet Hein to proceed to the
flood area at once to serve as a
hospital ship.
The Queen waded in hip boots
thru the flood waters for several
hours yesterday on an inspection
tour of the heart of the disaster
area. She took clothing from her
own and her daughters' wardrobes
for distribution to the needy.
Flood survivors brought with
them countless stories of death
and heroism.
TWINS BORN
In the little village of Hendrik
Ido Ambacht, 16 adults and 22 chil
dren played out the drama of life
and death.
There were bodies of the dead in
the lower floors of a house where
they had taken refuge. The living
huddled in an attic.
At the worst of the flood one of
the women was placed on a table
and, shielded by adults with their
backs turned, gave birth to healthy
twins.
The currents around the Island
of Schouwen still were strong to
day and took the lives of four per
sons who were being rescued by
small boat. The boat reached the
mainland with only three of its
seven passengers still alive. One
was seriously hurt.
ROADS FALL
Roads from the flood reas to
Rotterdam and other cities resem
bled Holland in wartime. Like refu
gees from an invading army, the
survivors trooped away carrying
household belongings, leading cat
tle, shepherding their children and
their aged.
Gen. Eddy, after a flight over the
devasated areas, termed the dam
age to Holland "appalling,"
From all parts of Europe and the
U. S. came offers of help from
churches and civic organizations as
well as governments. American
Protestants sent a money grant.
French Catholics offered shelter for
children. Italians also offered to
care for children, and newspapers
began collecting money and cloth
ing.
Belgium threw open its frontiers
to Dutch refugees. Prime Minister
Jean Van Houtte said "there will
be no passport formalities."
U. S. ARMY HELPS
American military planes trans
ported rubber rafts for morooned
flood victims. The first load was
landed at the little town of Gilze-
Rijen.
Two American amphibious truck
companies were sent to southern
Holland for rescue work. Two en
gineer construction battalions were
moved into aid in rebuilding dikes,
homes and other buildings.
A quartermaster's aerial supply
company was ordered to rush sup
plies, drugs, medicines, spades,
shovels and other equipment. Six
helicopters and 15 light planes were
flown in. Canadian and British
troops also moved into Holland
from Germany to help rescue work.
The Dutch Radio Hilversum said
it had received an unofficial esti
mate that listed 1,000 000 persons
in distress. Many reports, however,
were confused and misleading.
