GREAT DAMAGE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 46, 4 December 1934, Page 5

GREAT DAMAGE

VICTORIAN ESTIMATES EXCEEDED LOSS OF TWO MILLION POUNDS. 35 DEAD, FIVE MISSING. NO NEWS OF SMALL CRAFT. (United Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 10.45 a.m.) MELBOURNE, This Day. The subsiding of the flood -waters is revealing desolation and damage even greater than was expected. At Yalloum the damage in the State Electricity Commission's open cut, and . to machinery, may total £1,000,000. Between 20 and 25 bridges have been swept away, and it is estimated that their replacement will cost about £30,000. The death-roll is now 35 and five people are still missing. An alarming feature is the absence of news of several small craft which were believed to have sheltered from storms on Thursday and Friday. It is feared that these have shared the fate of the Coramha. It is estimated that the cost of repairing public utilities will be at least £500,000, and the damage to private property is likely to exceed £1,500,000. AN APPALLINQ SITUATION. GREAT PROBLEM OF RELIEF. 1 - _ FAMILIES ON ROOF-TOPS. MELBOURNE, December 3. Victoria is faced with a tremendous problem in providing relief for those who have suffered in the floods. Thousands are homeless and destitute, and food is at a premium in the flooded areas, which are difficult to reach owing to bridges having collapsed. Motor lorries are rushing through all the suburbs collecting what clothing and blankets can be spared. The Commonwealth Government has provided £IO,OOO for the relief of the victims. Rail communication between Yalloum and the brown coai mine two miles away is cut off, as a result of which the whole of Victoria may have rationed supplies of electric light and power from the Yalloum undertaking. It is estimated that unwatering of the open cut will occupy six months. The River Yarra.is. showing signs of receding. Carcases of animals, domestic pets and poultry and furniture are being washed down in the swirling torrent. ~ The plight of potato growers at Ivooweerup (Gippsland) is appalling. Ihe majority have lost everything and have had little to eat since Friday, when hundreds of families were completely marooned. The,local constable while attempting to rescue women and children, was himself trapped and ' floated about in a wooden vat tor hours. The vat eventually foundered. He reached safety by walking through water up to his neck. The local physician, Dr. Hewitt, had no sleep for two nights while attending to sufferCIS. WTwenty police from Melbourne have been rescuing people from their house -'tops throughout last night and to-day. A common sight is dead sheep suspended from fences. The sympathy, of the New Zealand people and Government was expressed in a letter to the Premier of Victoria, which was received from the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates to-day. The. Lord Mayor's relief fund which was opened to-day, has reached well over £IO,OOO.