AUSTRALIAN FLOODS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 24, 28 January 1910, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN FLOODS.

3VTDESPREAD DESTRUCTTIOIS.,

HOW NARRABRI FARED.

WATER' IOFT. IN THE STREETS.

A special reporter of the "Sydney Daily Telegraph" says:— . " At Xarrabri one begins to realise the appalling nature of the catastrophe that has happened to the north-western portion of the State. The Hood, which started at Gunnedah, swept a relentless -course to Boggabn, until here at Xarrabri, miles of country were covered by a devastating stream. And yet the torrent .roared on to find its level westward, carrying with it the savings and happiness of thousands of settlers, and leaving a trail of death and desolation. It has already reached Wee Waa. Now everyone is wondering what will happen when it strikes Walgett. There the Naomi joins the Barwon, and with both rivers in high flood' Walgett appears likely to be swept out of existence. THE TRACK OF DEATH. The most awful feature of the Eooa is the atmosphere of death that it leaves behind. To-day the whole country from Walgett to Collarenebri, from Moxee to Narrabri, reeks with putrefaction. A smell of decomposing animal permeates everything here in Narrabri. The flood waters have subsided from the town, but a noisome filth has been deposited over everything as a fearful legacy. Writing now, cne can hear the noise of water baling in the street, and an odour of disinfectant floats through the window, as a reminder of the horrible, stark carcases that are being -carried along by the rushing water in tens of thousands half a mile away. Yesterday, on the somewhat exciting trip along the Xamoi from Gunnedah to Boggabri the boat seemed a.3 though steering its way through a river of death. Dead bodies, bloated and hideous, bumped the sides of the boat and rolled away behind, only to catch in some tree trunk or snag, or pile lipi with.'others in heaps and islands. This morning as~ we scrambled over the broken railway bridge and splashed through mud from West Narrabri to Narrabri we saw even greater evidences of terrible destruction. High against the poles of the bridge are the bodies of hundreds of animals, and watching the torrent we could see them sweeping on towards the Barwon in countless numbers. On this side of the river and tlie lailway bridge the line i 3 torn and twisted as though the steel rails had been cardboard. The seething wall of water that did this has left heaps ol dead sheep in the paddocks on either hand. . . THE PITY OF IT. And »he landscape—those toeautiful flats which a few days ago were covered with green waving grass, in Which the stock browsed knee-deep—where are' they. now? As far a= the eye can see the face of the earth is covered a foot thick with a carpet of slimy malodoroiis mud. The pity of it! Only last week when rain was falling settlers were congratulating themselves on the prospects of a splendid season. To-day their hopes i have been swept away with, in many cases, ail their worldly possessions. The full extent of the devastation is not known yet. Host of the settlers along the river are still sheltering in the towns, waiting for an opportunity to return and see if their homes are still standing. When the waters have completely subsided there will be a terrible tale to tell—misery and destruction.

The towns have suffered as well as the country, and Xarrabri has bent like a reod before the storm. Oα Sunday the water rose into the main streets, and in a few hours the whole town was engaged in trying to save itself from destruction. The river poured through the main thoroughfares. Fortunately, most of the shopkeepers had taken the precaution to put their goods on shelves and counters, and the immediate destruction was not as great as expected. The streets are even now not'free from water, but there hae been sufficient subsidence to enable one to see the damage that has been wrought. The macadamised roads have been torn up, as though by some giant scraper, and the material has been deposited on the footpaths and in the gutters, and over all is the same putrid slime. Shop floors are covered ankle-deep, and cellars are full of it. The bridge over what. is known, as The! Creek—a sort of tributary to the river— ' has been swept away. The bridge connects Xarrabri with a suburb known as. Dangar Village, and its destruction left 150 houses completely isolated for two days. For 24 hours the residents of Dangar Village were without food. When the torrent was at its height, the water was 10ft deep, and there was hardly a house the roof of which was not occupied by people, who were, every instant, expecting to tie swept away, house and all. GOOD WORK BY BOATMEN. If there were space, many exciting stories could be narrated of rescues under perilous circumstances. There were two boats available, and they were instrumental in carrying about 100 persons to safety. Among the first rescued were 11 Chinese gardeners, who were in a serious predicament at Dangar Village. After they had been safely landed the boat was pulled back over the bridge, as the force of the stream was so great that the river could not be crossed. Hardly had the boat got back when the bridge collapsed. Soon afterwards it was reported that a family was in difficulties on the roof of a house three miles away on the Boggabri-road. Although it was at night time, Sub-Inspector Butler, with Messrs Walter Hudson and essayed to take out the boat and all of them narrowly escaped being drowned. The boat could not be rowed against the current, so a cart horse was harnessed in front to tow it some distance up the stream. The- horse was being led by Constable Anderson, when somehow horse and man became mixed up, and the next instant were rolling downstream together. The boat upset, and -horse, boat and men were being swept away, when they brought up in a barbed wire fence. How they scrambled out they do not seem to know. '■'All I can say," Inspector Butler remarked, "is that it was a very-, close call." Another adventure happened to four young residents of the town, who •borrowed one of the boats to go to the assistance of a family near the railway station. They managed to get seven women and six children into the boat, but then found that they were powerless to pull against the rushing current; accordingly they tied the boat to a fence, and two of them waded out into the water with a view to securing assistance. They found help and came back, and, to their utter amazement, the boat, fence and all had disappeared. There "was much, cxi citement for an hour or two, until it -was found that the boat, •with its occupants, j had brought up safejy at .the house-of Sir

CHANNELS OF- SHJSH 1 AND MUD. These are but a few of the many, thrilling incidents that occurred during Sunday night. The seriousness of the position was such that even the people in. the centre of the town spent the night on the roof. The water roared as it-tore through the streets.- Narrabri -consisted of a collection of housetops, in the centre of a yellow, smellful, torrent four miles wide. On Monday morning the water commenced to slowly subside, and the streets are now merely channels of slush and mud. The cleaning up has now to t be faced, and a fearful task- it is. The weather to-day is hot and steamy, and the aroma that pervades the town is beyond - description. It is almost beyond imagination. One cannot help ■ thinking what will be the. result to the health of the community of this unprecedented inundation. It- seems more. than.likely .that it will lead to a serious epidemic of sickness unless the" most rigid "precautions, are taken. The people'are cleaning out their houses, and the shopkeepers their shops with all possible speed. On every side are wet and muddy garments and half-ruined furniture out drying.- Women-and. men, bootless and with sleeves rolled-up, are throwing mud from their dwellings is buckets full. - Pedestrians paddle along the footpaths with mnd squelching round the tops of their boots. The work that confronts the Municipal Council is sufficient, to make even the most energetia alderman, shudder; but it is a work that will have to be faced and that quickly. The state of the district immediately surrounding Narrabri is not definitely known, but there is no reason to believe that it has suffered any less severely than the country around Gunnedah and Boggabri. Sub-inspector Butler stated this morning that so far he had received no reports of any casualties. It was, he said, rumoured that the body of a woman had been seen floating down the-river,-hut he gave the story little credence. The. fact was that the settlers took warning and saved their lives. The loss of stock, however, he remarked, would be found to be very great. The river was running over five miles wide in places; and the force of . the stream was terrific. Tarririo Bridge, about eight miles above Isarrabri, is said to be choked with the carcases of large stock. As showing the remarkable tenacity to life displayed, bysbine stock, Inspector Butler mentioned that'three" cows, from Mr. Stratford's Harparary Station landed here safely on Monday morning, having been carried down the river fully 35 miles. '■