§ MR. SYDNEY BUXTON (Tower Hamlets, Poplar)asked the hon. Member for the Knutsford Division of Cheshire, What explanation the Metropolitan Board of Works can give of the cause of the further disastrous flooding that took place in the Isle of Dogs on the afternoon and evening of Monday, July 30; whether the flooding was chiefly due to the fact that the capacity of the main sewers proved insufficient to take off the water; and, what steps the Board proposes to take in order to prevent the recurrence of such a calamity?
§ COLONEL HUGHES (Woolwich)(who replied) said: The flooding in the Isle of Dogs on Monday was due to the torrential storm of rain which occurred on the evening of that day, and at a time when 1701 the tide was rising; under quite different conditions, therefore, from the flooding on the 26th of June last, about which the hon. Member asked a Question at the time. Both the temporary engines were working their hardest the whole time, all the engineers, stokers, and flap-keepers being on the spot, and everything that was possible having been done by them. I am quite unable to say what steps the Board can take to effectually meet such a great emergency as that of last Monday. The matter will require much consideration.
§ MR. SYDNEY BUXTONasked, if the Board would take the matter into consideration, in order to see if the floods could not be prevented in future?
§ COLONEL HUGHESsaid, they would have great pleasure in doing so. The difficulty was that the basement of many of these houses was below high-water mark.