GRAPHIC DETAILS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 83, 9 April 1929, Page 7

GRAPHIC DETAILS.

FLOOD DEVASTATION.

Pitiful Plight In Tasmania's

Ruined Areas.

£1,000,000 DAMAGES

(Australian and N.Z. Press Association.)

(Received 11."0 a.m.)

HOBART, thi sday.

Further graphic details of the flood damage in northern districts of Tasmania, and the bursting of the Cascade Dam are given by Mr. Charles Lucas, of Derby. He indicated that more than £1,000,000 "will be incurred in making good the flood devastation. Essential services are now almost back to normal, but 4000 are homeless. He is afraid Derlby will be wiped out. There is no chance of reopening the mines. About 500 people have been deprived of a livelihood. Losses to stock and damage to property are greater than was feared. Heroic incidents are recorded of rescue work during the floods following the bursting of the dam. The Briseis Tin Mines' workings have been almost filled in. A cut 1000 ft wide and 150 ft deep was swamped in half an hour bv a rushing torrent from the burst Cascade dam. A thrilling account of the flood on the n<n th-east coast and the fate of Schamander Bridge was told by a Melbourne visitor who arrived at Ilobart after a precarious journey. He says lmge quantities of debris collected above the bridge and caused enormous pressure. Under this the piles were simply drawn bodily from the river-bed on the upper side. A minute later nothing was visible but a boiling mass of water, wliich carried the debris, bridge and all, to the sea. Trees, boulders and landslips blocked the loads at intervals. T he destruction of the old stone bridge, which was built by convicts across the at Perth, broke the telephone and telegraph communication with Hobart and Launeeston at the week-end. The connection was restored by the use of rocket apparatus, by which a rope was shot over and used to effect temporary telegraph repairs. This enabled a huge accumulation of telegrams to be cent on. The Macquarie River at Ross has now subsided sufliciently to enable a few motor cars to be driven at a high speed across the old stone bridge, but it is a risky enterprise. The fall of the water in the river also has released a number of people who had been imprisoned on the upper floors of their houses, whence they witnessed unforgettable scenes. Dead stock and farm debris were piled against fences and formed a gruesome l.ieakwater. Platypuses were washed down stream from their customarv ha nuts and swam across roads. Scared rabbits were seen perched on logs and stumps in mid-stream. The previous record flood level at Avoca in 1852 has now been exceeded by more than 10ft. There is hardly a bridge intact in Xorthern Tasmania. Railway stations are submerged. A sum of £250,000 will bo needed to restore the roads and railways. Families along the South Esk River J were awakened from their sleep by the j rush of the flood waters toward mid-j night on Thursday. They had to flee for I their lives in their night attire. Many! people only escaped by swimming. I The homeless people are being accom- j modated in garages, theatres, and busi- ' iie-s premises, which have been turned into temporary hoardinghouses. The devastation in the Tnveresk district is pitiful. Many families have been ruined. .