TOWN ENGULFED

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 282, 29 November 1927, Page 7

TOWN ENGULFED

huge dam burst.

ALGIERS DISASTER.

Thousands Destitute And

Isolated.

OVER 300 CASUALTIES,

(By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.)

■Received 9.30 a.m.) PAEIS, November 28.

Devastating floods in Algeria caused the irrigation dam near the picturesque town of Perregaux to collapse and an underground river to burst its banks. The dam was 600 ft, long and 100 ft high. Many houses in various towns have teen wrecked by the flood waters. Aeroplanes are conveying succour to the homeless inhabitants. The trains are held up. The number of people drowned is believed to exceed 300. The promptness of the engineer of the dam in telephoning a warning to Perregaux that the dam was about to collapse, averted an appalling disaster. His rtiessage arrived 40 minutes before tha catastrophe occurred, and the majority of the 10,000 inhabitants were enabled to rush to the hills, where at present they are isolated and destitute. The flood engulfed trains and twisted engines and bridges into fantastic lhapes. ■ Two Europeans were seen clinging to -i treetop, but help was impossible and they were overwhelmed. ' As the whole region, which was flooded, depends on the reservoir for irrigation, H' inay be impossible to grow crops again for some years. The' Algiers correspondent of the •Daily Mail" says a wireless message from Mostaganem, 45 miles from Oran, gtated that the situation there was terrible. Water poured into the town through the railway tunnel and destroyed factories and warehouses. All the drains burst. The message added that there were hundreds of casualties.

Rescuers are endeavouring to reach a marooned train; in which many starving children are surrounded by the flood water.—(A. and N.Z. and Sydney "Sun.")