Patched Dikes
Hold Off Heavy
North Sea Tides
I
Officials Doubt New Floods
Unless Gales Spring Up
Before Tomorrow Night
LONDON, Feb. 14 Hastily
patched dikes of Great Britain,
ihe Netherlands and Belgium to-
iay withstood pounding midday
aigh tides. Officials in the three
:ountries believed they will beat
my threat of new floods if no'
tales develop in the North Sea
Jetween now and Monday night
i critical period of swelling tides.
Dnce these particularly high tides
—due to the position of the moon
tnd sunbegin to recede, service
nen and volunteers will have
imple time and supplies to plug
lolidly holes torn in sea walls by
itorm and tide waves two weeks
igo. More than 2,000 persons lost
heir lives then, and property
tamage impossible to estimate was
:aused.
Heavy snowfalls today isolated
'illages and blocked roads and rail
ines in northern England and
Scotland. On the Continent, Win
er loosened its grip after a week
if blizzards.
Battered Canvey Island, in the
Phames Estuary, waited with
Iread for the midday tide. But
here was hardly a puff of wind
irhen it came, and the tide was
iarely a foot above normal. A
mall seepage developed in the
?est wall but it was quickly hand
ed.
A sandbag air-lift was function-
ng ip high gear, bringing bags to
.-orkers along England's east coast.
Phese supplies were coming from
lurich, Oslo, Milan, Copenhagen
nd other Western European cities,
tmeriean authorities arranged for
50,000 bags to be flówn from
leidélberg, Germany, to Manston
lirfiejd in Kent.
Dutch War Minister Cornelis
itaf announced the near ending of
he emergency situation in Hol-
and's flooded area and withdrawal
f the international peace army
hat has saved many lives and
iverted numerous flood threats
luring the last fortnight. The
ailitary forces wil begin leaving
tfonday morning after the high
ides of the week end have sub-
ided.
Mr. Staf said American, Belgian,
(ritish, Canadian and French sol-
liers and officers, along with the
)utch, disregarded personal com-
ort and "worked like dogs under
he worst weather conditions,"
He said he saw artillery men
urn into frogmen to repair water
upply lines and saw French sol-
iers feeding ducks, the only ani-
lals that survived on the Island
f Tholen. He cited examples of
.merican and Belgian soldiers
ooking meals for as many as
,000 persons at a time.
