The Express.
London, England, 1855-03-13 00:00:00

THE ,EI

ROTTERDAM, MA3 10.
Accounts from the Lower and Upper Rh:lie, and
from the province of North Brabant, continue to be
of the moat distressing description. We hear of
house undermined and beaten down by the inundat-
ing waters, while others more capable of resisting
their violesies, stand with their roofs peering above the
surrounding flood. In one instance, in a village near
Dusseldorf, the inhabitants had not the time to effect
their escape before the waters dashed in. sweeping all
before them. Many poor creatures were drowned,
though not so many, happily, as under the (dream-
steams might have been expected. To those who
escaped, the only place of safety was in the higher
stories of their dwellings ; and many instances
occurred of people being obliged to seek safety on the
roofs of their cottages, whither no 'mistimes could
be conveyed to them, in consequence of the
enormous masses of ice dashing about on the sur-
face of the encroaching waters. The village of Veen-
endaal has suffered 'evenly; the inhabitants have
left—i.e., have been driven from—their homes en
masse, and may be seen bringing with them their
children, their furniture, and what provisions they
coeld save, seeking shelter in the neighbouring vil-
lages. The ehurcb, which is situated on a rising
ground, is almost the only building uninjured by the
flood, and it is consequently filled with poor creatures
shut out from any other shelter. I hear many of
them are there unable to move through sickness.
Even when the water may have returned to its chan-
cel—and at the time I write it has begun to fall—a
fearful 1101410 of devastation will await the return of
the inhabitants. Of winter crops there will be none
—not a potato nor a chair remains ; the village
must in a manner be rebuilt, reprovisioned, and re-
furnished before its inhabitants can occupy it again.
The Hing and the Minister of the Interior nave
already visited this scene of desolation, and his Ma-
jesty left in the hands of the authorities a thousand
florins for the immediate relief of the homeless inha-
bitants of Veenendaal. Collections are being made
throughout the whole country for the same benevo-
lent purpose, and as there are many Dutchmen pros-
pering in England, it may be that they also will lend
a helping hand in aiding their distressed fellow-
countrymen in this their hoar of urgent need.
In North Brabant the flood is not so general, but
it has broken down the dykes, so that the damage
caused will prove of a fearful character. Sevei al
bridges have been carried away, and the town of Bois-
le-doe is a diminutive island amidst a waste of water
and ice. The surrounding villages are deserted, but
when the dykes are repaired they will again, for the
most part, be habitable. In one village, however,
20 houses were at once swept away by the flood, and
seven of their occupants were drowned. It
is 144 years ago since Holland was before
visited with a similarly destructive flood. The ice,
however, is now breaking up very generally, so that
no further stoppages are likely to occur in the &an-
, nels ; thus we may hope that we have now seen the
worst of this fearful inundation. The Meese before
Rotterdam bee broken up to-day, though not until a
steamer of great power had first forced a pussy
through the ice. The fast was immediately tele-
, graphed to the principal foreign ports, so that next
week we may expect to see the usual activity
, resumed.