Page 103 - 1970S

of tons of topsoil ended up in thc

Mediterranean Sea. Estimates of damagc

range from 40 million to 150 million

dollars.

According to Mr. Bourguiba, the dcs–

truction was so great that the entire

country has to be remapped

!

In sorne

instances, rivers changed their courses

by 10 to 12 miles.

Other results from the oearly un–

believable storm:

More than 200 miles of roads and 52

bridges were washed out.

Twenty pcrcent of thc country's live–

stock was killed.

Sorne 70,000 homcs were dcstroyed.

Ovcr half of the date crop was dc–

stroyed, and the olivc crop- a key cx–

port ítem - was described as "rujncd."

A recently opened $7-million irriga–

tion network near arid Kerouan was

ncarly wiped out. It was to have opcned

a new arca for growing a high-yicld

strain of \-fexican wheat.

Now that the raios have stoppcd,

Tunisia faces the task of rebuildiog,

with the grim knowledge that two thirds

of what has been bui lt in the past 15

yelrs has been washed away.

*

* * * *

America's Capital

-

for Crime

According to Presidcnt Nixon, crime

in the nation's capital "has reached crisis

proportions." He recently called on

Congress for prompt federal moves to

cnd this "disgraceful situatioo."

Statistics revca l that Washington,

D.

C.

has the highcst rale of robberics

and burglaries among American cities of

comparable size. lt ranks second in

murders and third in aggravated assaults.

Because of the suspccted high inci–

dence of small-arms ownership, sorne

are calling thc D.

C.

area "Dodge City

on the Potomac."

Washington has become a city of fear.

Stecl grates cover store windows. Sorne

small shop owners open the•r doors only

to known customcrs. A lP'

rt.rhington

Po.rt

article reportcd that sixteen schools

in the area teach karate and other forms

of self-defense.

Mr. Nixon has requested $4,700,000

to triple the White Housc police force

by 1972 in order to protect foreign em–

bassies and their staffs. Sorne foreign

governments regard Washington as the

"most unsafe" capital in thc world for

their cmbassy pcrsonncl.

A congressional study panel has rec–

ommended prevcntive detention of up

to 60 days be allowed to prevcnt

hardened criminals from repcatedly com–

mitting aimes while awaiting trial.

Poi ice reports show that one out of every

three armed robbery suspccts released

on bail is arrestcd for •another offense

before he comes to trial.

* * *

*

Supertankers lncrease Oil

Spill Threat

The era of the supertanker has

brought with it the threat of catastrophic

Wide

World Photo

Photo shows artist's drowing of the 207,000-ton Dutch tanker, Marpessa,

which sank 50 miles northwest of Dakar. The vessel was built by lshikowajima–

Horima Co., Ltd., Jopan.

oil spills. This was pointed up on

December 15, 1969 when the new

207,000-ton

Mrtrpeua

exploded and

sank 80 miles off the coast of West

Africa after making its first oil delivery.

lt

was the first of three serious super–

tanker explosions off the African coast

in December. Later in the month, oo

December 29,

Marpe.rsa's

sistcr ship

Mactra

(

dead weight- 205,000 tons)

was rockcd by an explosion and fire io

the Mozambique Channel. The follow–

ing day an explosion occurred aboard the

109,432-ton Norwegian tanker

Kong–

Haakon VIl

off the coast of Liberia.

Thc giant

i\farpem1

had unloaded its

cargo at Rotterdam and was sailing

empty. Nevertheless, the sinking sent

shivers through the od industry, which

is working hard to develop means of

preventing and controlling oil spills.

The danger of pollution from oil

spills has received increased attention

since thc notorious Torrey Canyon

episode, in March, 1967.

It

spi lled 30

million gallons of oi l onto a 100-mile

stretch of shoreline. The owners paid

Britain and France $7.2 million for pol–

lution damage.

K.

E. Biglane, a divisional director

in thc Federal Water Pollution Control

Administration said that aftcr "nearly

three years since the Torrey Canyon

casualty, this nation, and I suspect this

is true worldwide, still cannot mount

sufficient technical or operational re–

sponses to positively control Jarge spills

of oil. ..."

An estimated 1 billion tons of oil

are shipped across the oceans annually,

aod sorne observers claim that at least

1 million tons are spilled in one way or

aoother.

The American Bureau of Shipping

reports there are now 180 tankcrs with

a carrying capacity of 100,000 tons or