Heavy Rains Flood Immigrant Camps in Israel; Children Contract Pneumonia; Aid Urged

Fifteen thousand immigrants living in tents in reception camps along the coast near Nathanya are facing unbearable conditions owing to the heavy rains flooding the entire area around the camps, it was disclosed today. The camp grounds have been turned into deep mud, tents are leaking badly and the dampness is penetrating everywhere.

Mothers and fathers can be seen carrying their infants in their arms, trying to keep them dry while they themselves are knee-deep in mud and water inside the tents. The camp inmates are absolutely helpless and many children have contracted pneumonia. The situation, according to well-informed quarters, calls not only for immediate aid, but for an all-out rescue operation.

Some 2,000 children living in the coast centers are being removed to Nathanya and the surrounding area where they will remain temporarily with regular residents. A report from Jaffa said that four sisters in one family were killed when the torrential downpour collapsed a house in which they resided.

Meanwhile, reports from the Negev say that many settlements in the southern desert have been isolated as a result of the rains. Emergency planes laden with food and medicines have been rushed to critical points. The reports said that many tourists visiting the Negev have been cut off and are now unable to return to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

Search parties, for settlers reported to be missing, were sent out in Army cars and civilian trucks, but were compelled to return because the small valleys had been transformed into swift and deep streams and were impassable. A Mapai youth group which was touring the Negev was stranded yesterday 20 kilometers south of Beersheba when their truck broke down. The only hotel in Beersheba is crowded with settlers unable to return to their homes. Spare beds have been set up in the school and other public buildings there.