Minsk and Other Towns in Soviet White Russia Still in Grip of Floods: Government Rusping Aid to Vict

The heavy floods at Minsk, the capital of White Russia, have not yet subsided, and the population, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, is suffering immense hardship. The newspapers are still unable to appear.

Bobruisk, Mozir, Ossipovich and other towns in White Russia are still in the grip of the floods.

The Soviet Government is rushing aid to the flood victims.

In Borisov about 200 houses are under water, and seven houses have been completely swept away. Telegraph communication with Mozir has been destroyed. In many parts of White Russia there are no trains running because the tracks are flooded.

In Moscow itself the lower parts of the city are flooded, the River Moskva having broken its banks. Several factories and about 1,000 houses in Moscow have been inundated. The British Embassy in Moscow is now unapproachable without wading.

ENGLAND TOO

The recent heavy rainfall has caused serious alarm also in the whole of the Thames Valley. Many acres of farmland are flooded through the abnormal height of the river. At Abridge, Essex, even the main street is deeply covered with water. And at Lingfield, the Surrey and Burstow Hunt Steeplechase had to be abandoned owing to many parts of the course being flooded, it is stated. Roads are submerged and cars had to be healed out of the mud with the aid of horses belonging to gypsies.

Anxious watch is being kept by residents on the banks of the River Roding along the Woodford Valley, Essex. They are alarmed by the rapid rise in the water after the heavy rain. At Noak Hill the main road is flooded, and timber from partly constructed houses is floating about in the water. The Thames rose several inches yesterday at Chertsey, Surrey, and is now a considerable height above its normal summer level. Parts of London like the Twickenham district, are also menaced.