'LOODS'TOLL RISES
AS RESCUERS RACE
NEW YORK TIMES
ThreeNations'DeadNear 1,600
New Breaches in Dikes Add
to Menace to Dutch
MERCY ARMIES RUSH AID
150 Planes, 2,000 Boats Press
Fight to Save Thousands
Marooned by Seas' Fury
FEB 1953
By DANIEL L. SCHORR
Special to The New York Times.
THE HAGUE, the Netherlands,
Feb. 3—An airlift of 150 planes
and a bridge of 2,000 vessels
worked desperately today and
into the night to evacuate more
than 50,000 flood survivors from
the Zeeland and South Holland
Islands and to supply 250,000
others.
They were racing against a
mounting death toll that had
reached an ascertained 1,043, not
including isolated areas still un
heard from, where heavy casual
ties were expected.
[The total of deaths in the
Netherlands, Britain and Bel
gium neared 1,600, The Associ
ated Press reported.]
New dike breaches spread the
devastation, which already covers
400,000 acres. Three days after!
the gale-driven North Sea had
broken the Dutch water defenses
as never before in five centuries,
victims marooned on roofs, in
trees and clinging to lamp posts
were succumbing to the flood.
180 Dead in One Barn
An unofficial eyewitness report
said ISO persons had been found
dead in a barn loft in Oude Tonge,
on Overflakkee Island, and that
more than 1,000 were marooned
on a crumbling section of dike,
where they had sought refuge
Sunday. At last reports they had
been reached by evacuation boats.
About thirty-five helicopters,
most of them United States and
British, were shuttling back and
forth to pick up trapped survivors
and take them to places where
they could be embarked on boats
and amphibian planes. A huge
fleet of naval vessels, private ships
and fishing boats lay off the
islands to give assistance.
American evacuation personnel
reported that many victims could
not be saved because they were
too weak to be picked up and that
some were refusing to leave in
areas not immediately threatened.
An unexpected obstacle to rescue
since the evacuation operation be
gan has been the stubborn refusal
of many families to quit their an
cestral farmsteads.
But 7,000 persons streamed into
Rotterdam and hundreds more into
other towns, where they were as
sembled in sports arenas and
.exhibition halls. Home owners
throughout the country were or
dered to make available every ex
tra room and bed they had.
Many evacuated persons, hollow-
eyed and tottering from fatigue,
returned quickly to the reception
centers to see if the next boat
might bring a missing relative. Po
lice cordons had to be thrown
around reception centers to hold
back anxious crowds seeking news
of kin and friends.
Three women in Rotterdam and
two in Breda were delivered of
children a few hours after they had
been snatched from the flood.
Threat of Disease Checked
An increasing number of appeals
from marooned communities for
medicine, penicillin and other anti
biotics indicated a mounting dan
ger of disease, but Dutch Army
medical authorities said there was
not yet any threat of epidemic.
However, many evacuated victims
were suffering from respiratory
diseases.
Premier Villem Drees reported to
an emergency session of Parlia
ment that the Netherlands' post
war reconstruction "has suffered a
heavy blow." He announced that
disaster payments for floor victims
would start "on the same basis as
payments to war victims."
Speaking rapidly as if to keep
emotion from welling up in his
voice, he gave a survey of the
flooded areas, but said the Gov
ernment was not yet in a position
to assess the damage or its con
sequences.
One of the Government's first
measures was to ban export of po
tatoes, a principal product of the
flooded area, and to impose price
ceilings on potatoes to prevent
speculation, which had already
started on a minor scale.
The Lower House recessed after
the Premier's declaration, feeling
that, no debate was needed at this
point. Only the Communists in
sisted on discussion. Their press
has tried to make capital of the
floods by charging the Govern
ment was fumbling the evacuation
and relief program.
The Communist newspaper De
Waarheid protested against the ar
rival of United States and British
military relief units, suggesting
that they had come for some sinis
ter purpose. But this feeling was
not shared by the overwhelming
majority of Netherlander, who
thrilled at the prompt aid by this
country's allies.
Lieut. Manton S. Eddy, Com
mander of the Unied States forces
in West Germany, announced that
Army, Air Force and Naval units,
with personnel totaling about 4,000
were operating in the Netherlands
or were on their way or alerted
for movement from Germany if
needed. A United States military
relief mission was set up at Dutch
army headquarters here under
command of Brig. Gen. Raleigh
Hendrix.
United States units already or
dered here include four Flying
Boxcars to drop supplies, two am
phibian vehicle companies, heli
copters, liaison planes, engineer
personnel and naval landing craft,
with supporting units that will
make them self-sustaining except
for housing.
Britain also was participating
with helicopters, naval vessels and
other units.
Free cable facilities were given
to families in the stricken area, to
'notify Dutch troops in Korea that:
I they were safe.
Three-Nation Toll Mounts
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands,'
Feb. 3 07?) North Sea waves1
pounding through broken Dutch
dikes threatened tonight to swell
by hundreds the death toll off
storms and floods that alreadyj
have claimed nearly 1,600 lives in
the Netherlands, Britain and Bel-
gium.
Near-zero cold, snow and hail
I wrought misery among thousands
marooned through four days as
rescuers of a half dozen nations
fought by sea and air to reach,
them. Many were numb and suf-
I fering from exposure.
While the fury eased in England
and Belgium, the Netherlands
stayed fast in the grip of the flood.
She was the hardest hit of the
three countries.
A new burst in the dikes was
reported at Bommel, on the north
I coast of Goeree-Overflaake Lsland.
Seas roared through a hole thirty-
I five yards wide and five yards deep
and swept inland. Bommel has a
[population of 2,000.
The losses in homes, land and
llivestock run into uncounted mil-
lions of dollars. More than 400
square miles were flooded in Eng-j
land. Arthur Haulet, Belgian Tour-1
ist Commissioner, said damage to f
Belgium's seaside resorts alone was i
510,000,000.
The final death toll may exceed
2,000. This was the latest count
from official and reliahle unoffi
cial sources: The Netherlands, 991;
Britain, 536; Belgium, 22; total,
1,549.
