Three weeks ago stringent evacuation orders were issued here and in all the larger cities and towns round about, requiring the withdrawal to country districts of all non-essential people, and of industries and those connected with them. This was described as being only a reasonable provision against possible eventualities, but it excited all manner of speculations and rumours; and as there was a general scepticism about any crisis in the near future, there was not much haste to obey the order:
Pressure was applied in various ways, and before these raids several tens of thousands had left. The raids have done a lot to second the efforts of the authorities, and for these four days people have been pouring out of the city by every possible channel. Since the first day of the raids large numbers of people have crossed the harbour to the Kakchieh side and spent the day there, coming back in the evening.
The low figure for casualties in proportion to the number of bombs dropped, which must have been 100 at least, and the amount of machinegunning done, shows partly the wisdom of the evacuation orders, and partly how well-developed the sense of the man and woman and child in the street has heroine, under police guidance, for getting out of danger spots into safer places, passage to higher ground soon came impossible.
With vast cracks and huge r the heavy covering of ice on the river collapsed and gigantic, blocks of thi surged through the streets making the use of boats impossible.
In a short while the main bridge across the Immingol was cut off from the city and many smaller ones were in dire peril as the great blocks of ice piled up higher and higher as the flood swept downward in its ferocity In no time at all the ice masses had reached the level of the bridge and over these poured the water in gushes and it only became a matter of time as to how long they could hold in position.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.