Viewing Single Post From: The Thames: River of tears

Viewing Single Post From: The Thames: River of tears
SpookyTheCat	Aug 17 2008, 11:04 AM
~Shortstop had me at Hi..~ Posts: 10,713 Group: Admin Member #245 Joined: May 2, 2004	The Thames: River of tears Death and destruction flow through the river's history Water is the source of life for man and beast. When man settles, it's invariably along an ocean, lake or river. When animals congregate to take nourishment, they choose the same places. But water, especially rivers, can also lead to tragedy -- and the Thames River is no exception. Whether by overflowing its banks and causing death and destruction, or staying put as a watery grave, the river has produced many tears. Untold numbers of people have drowned in the Thames, 40 in London alone from 1940 to 198 * -- nearly one a year. And hardly a spring runoff occurs without someone along the river's 273-kilometre length falling in, sometimes with fatal results. The same rushing waters have often lured would-be adventurers, whose crafts succumb to the river's might, despite the warnings of police and public officials. Spring flooding reminds us of the power of nature. And not to build anything of value too close to the river's edge, or it might be swept away. Some experts suggest global warming will prompt the river to overspill its banks more often -- with even greater damage. By far the greatest tragedy on the Thames was the sinking of the steamship Victoria on May 24, 1881 near modern-day Greenway Park in London. That day, 200 people died and 418 survived when the excursion boat suddenly capsized. The death count originally stood at 181, but research has increased that and includes two victims who were swimming when the boat sank. Some accounts said the top-heavy craft tipped over when spectators moved from one side to another while watching a rowing match. Given London's smaller size at the time, it wasn't surprising that nearly every family in the city was touched by the tragedy. Today, an event with that loss of life would attract hordes of international media. The next-greatest single loss of life along the Thames came a mere two years later. On July 11, 1883, a severe thunderstorm dumped so much rain in the area, the swollen Thames spilled its banks overnight, catching many west London residents sleeping in their beds. Many homes were swept away, along with the Oxford Street Bridge. The death toll was 17. That was London's worst flood in lives lost, but an April 1937 flood caused the most damage as the Thames paid yet another unwanted visit to the homes in the city's west end. The 1937 flood took five lives and damaged more than 1,000 homes in all in a much more heavily populated London. About 60 hours later, the flood crest rolled into Chatham, causing further damage there. The repeated flooding by the Thames prompted the province to create conservation authorities, part of whose mandate was flood control through dams and dikes and other measures. Buildings were to be kept away from the river's edge to reduce future damage. Flood plains were mapped and building controls developed. In the flatlands of Kent County, the lower stretches of the Thames often turned nearby farmland into something akin to rice paddies. But an extensive system of dikes developed in the 1970s helped curb the river's tendencies to make unwanted "field" trips. Despite that, spring ice jams near Prairie Siding still saw the Thames exhibit wanderlust. Jack Robertson, a water management supervisor at the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority in Chatham-Kent, recalls serious floods in 1979 and 1985. The first saw a dike break in Dover Township, with water spilling onto 3,640 hectares of land, flooding or making inaccessible about 100 homes. A similar event six years later covered 5,665 hectares and flooded or cut off 380 homes. Over the years, the Thames has created many tears for those who have lost loved ones or property to its waters. It will continue to do so, as long as it continues its watery, meandering trek from its headwaters in Perth and Oxford counties to Lighthouse Cove at Lake St. Clair. It deserves respect and a certain amount of fear. For this is the Thames River.


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