THE FRENCH FLOODS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 124, 7 March 1930, Page 5

THE FRENCH FLOODS

SEVEN HUNDRED DEAD. TRAGEDY AND HEROiSM. TWO GERMAN YOUTHS SAVE 100. (United Press Association—Copyright.) (Received This Day, 9.45 a.m.) PARIS, March 6. 9 The devastation resulting; from the flood continues throughout the south-west. It is estimated that 700 are dead. . , A family of seven were found ' dead beneath the ruins of thenhome. . . ’. A peasant, seeing his house .collapse, whipped out a revolver and committed suicide, before the bonified spectators could prevent him. A man and his wife were clinging to branches together when their strength failed and they dropped into the flood. The population eulogise. Sqngalese soldiers’ magnificent rescuing worn, some remaining 06 hours in chilly waters. , i Two German youths are credited with having saved more than iuu group of cavalry men who set out to rescue screaming children, who were marooned on a diminishing island, me < disaster, three riders and their horses being drowned.

. • ■- : ;' : l PEOPLE BURIED IN RUINS. PERILOUS RESCUE WORE. PARIS, March 6. It is now reported that at least 300 lives were lost in the floods, 150 a Montauban alone 12 three at Saint Antonin and Albias, while scores of others are known have been buried in the ruins of buildimrs or drowned. The scene, now that the waters are receding, is one of utter desolation and destruction along 120 miles of rich country, 30 to 40 miles wide, embracing more than 100 important communities. Troops are feeding ancLsheltering thousands of people. Women are weeping and men are cursing Die Ate tliat destroyed their life s woilv. Rescue work is not merely a tnattei of boats and rafts; it is as penl<ras as life-saving m rough seas foi the floods in many places are not P lac,cl lakes hut raging torrents.. One rescuer was drowned after saving at leas of Moissae, where the dam hurst, said it was a terrible sight when dawn broke. Whole tows of houses were torn down and many pom souls were trapped in their beds and buried in the ruins, dreadful cries were hearth throughout the night, but we were helpless in the darkness./

THOUSANDS OF FARMS RUINED. LOSS OF MILLIONS STERLING. PARIS. March 5. Ten thousand square miles of Southern France were flooded in the woi st catastroulie of the kind in French history. Three rivers, the Tarn, Orb, and Herault have, broken their hanks bi t the indications are that the floods have reached the maximum. A survey of the damage reveals that it was even greater than was feared and at nresent can only he vaguely auproximated. The material loss is JESS? stated to be many mlhoM sterling. No fewer than 14 c!ep intents were wholly or partly devasted. Parliamentary representatives hxirriedlv convened a conference, and the Chamber of Deputies decided on an immediate inquiry. Meanwhile the urgency of the relief prompted the passing of a credit tor £200,000. The destructive character of the inundations was sweemng *-id dramatic. All telegraphic ' and telephonic mnnications were severed. and al '*® l ' l ? roads were destroyed, while bundled, of factories, power-stations and thousands of farms were ruined. Dwelling houses collapsed, and many bridges were swent away. . , An order for 70 coffins was received at Toulouse from the Prefect of .Larn-et-Garonne. . ' Aeroplanes are surveying the devastated area. More buildings have collapsed in the Tarn Valley, and Revues, which is totally destroyed, reports 14 deaths. The fire brigade from lonmis'* .rescued 22 persons wlio had spent 48 hours precariously in roofs and ti-ees. Sixtv-four were rescued from Mini is and 17 from Strnssine. Nearly all have been immersed in water for two days.

TEN THOUSAND HOMELESS. SCENES OF GREAT DESOLATION. LONDON, March 6. The “Daily Mail’s”. Toulouse cor-respondent-says: At least ten thousand are homeless as a result of the floods, which are subsiding gradually. Montauban presents a scene of heartrending desolation. In the low-lying streets neai the river houses have been swept away and other buildings are crumbling and crashing down almost every rninute. The damage to factories in the Tarn Department alone is estimated at more than £1,000,000. Two thousand have been thrown out or work at Castres, and there is little prospect of fresh employment. Important woollen and leather factories were destroyed in other districts, the damage totalling at least £500,000. WOMAN GIVES LIFE FOR FATHER PARIS, March 6. i A woman who was trying to save her paralysed father when he was swept away, was drowned. Her husband rescued the invalid.