Spring Freshet

The melting of the winter snow was bad enough. Then for days it rained. Creeks rose, spilled into the rivers, which rose in turn. Last week wide stretches of the southwestern Ontario peninsula were under water, in one of the worst spring freshets in years. Six people lost their lives.

When the Sydenham River rose 20 feet in less than 24 hours, 500 residents of Dresden (pop. 1,600) fled their homes. Dozens of autos were under water in the streets. Some buildings were immersed to their second floors.

The river rose at Wallaceburg until from the air the town looked like a community built along canals.

At St. Mary's, on the rampaging Thames, damage to flooded industries and houses was estimated at $100,000. Some 4,000 people were evacuated by boat in West London.

Chatham, a city of 17,400, was hardest hit of all. There the Thames inched over the record flood peak of 20 ft. 4 in. above normal, spread silt and muck, endangered the water supply, sent hundreds of families scampering for high ground.

In the countryside, where such streams as the Nith, the Grand, the Avon and the Conestoga surged beyond their banks, the floods meant delayed planting, probably smaller harvests.

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