Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-02-18
Hamburg Flooded, Thousands Flee;
U. S. Army, Marines Help in Crisis
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uty Mayor Edgar Engelhardt
said. 1--WE do not know what
will come next"
Destruction Of power lines in
Hamburg left most of the city
in darkness. and also crippled
hundreds Of miles Of Northern
Germany, up to the Danish
border, which were dependent
on light from Hamburg. Cam
dies became a precious item.
Entire City Cut Off
The city Of Stade, halfway
between Hamburg and the open
sea on the Elbe River estuary,
was completely cut off by floods
and could not be reached even
through radio communication.
1t was unknown what the dam
age there was.
The storm knocked locomo-
tives off their tracks like toy
engines and rail and road links
between Hamburg and the
south were completely under
water.
Health officials in Hamburg
stood by to inoculate thousands
against typhus.
Holland bikes Periled
Low-lying Holland, with its
hundreds of miles of dikes and
reclaimed land, luckily escaped
the major fury of the storm.
But high water caused a pre-
carious night Of dike-watching
there, smashed some dikes and
played havoc with roofs and
television antennas. The Hol-
fundamental liner Maasdam
damaged her bow when the
winds tossed the 15,024-ton
ship against the quayside.
1t was the busy port and in
dustrial region of Northern
Germany which bore the brunt
of the gales.
Within a short time, the wind
and waves struck CuXhaven,
Bremerhaven, Bremen, Will
helmshaven, Oldenburg and
Hamburg the biggest of the
German ports.
Large areas of Hamburg were
cut off. Inundated power and
gas lines brought industry,
newspapers, and almost the
entire life of the city of nearly
two million persons to a stand
still.
More than 5000 police, 1000
soldiers and 10000 Red Cross
workers were evacuating the
homeless in Hamburg alone.
Warnings were issued against
drinking water. Police were
alerted for plunderers.
Refugees were housed in
temporary quarters in schools
and hospitals on high ground.
The scenes recalled the nights
following the devastating air
raids on Hamburg in World
War II.
Thousands Of additional SOL
diers. police cars and ambu-
lances were rushed to the entire
North German area from as far
south as the West German cap
ital of Bonn.
The German Air Force ar
ranged an emergency airlift
from airports all over Germany.
United States Soldiers Help
About 100 American soldiers
and numerous trucks took part
in the Bremerhaven emergency
work. German authorities
thanked them for having
helped prevent disaster.
United States Marines were
reported to have joined Ger
man teams in Bremen, where
the bikes also were preached.
Hundreds of United States
Army blankets we're issued to
German refugees.
Alarm sirens cam e d
throughout the day along the
entire German coast. Police
said that thousands worked at
filling sandbags which were
rushed to threatened bikes.
In Cuxhaven, 10000 sand
bags were filled to repair dam
aged sea walls. Hundreds of
men stood in line passing the
bags from hand to hand to the
bikes. Many inundated areas
were expected to be without
gas and power for days.
Shipping was in distress
along the coast.