LIVES LOST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 285, 1 December 1934, Page 9

LIVES LOST.

TOLL OF STORM. TREMENDOUS DAMAGE Worst Tempest in Memory Rages in Victoria. ST. KILDA PIER WRECKED. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright) (Received 10 a.m.) MELBOURNE, tliis day.

"With the exception of the Wimmera and Mallee areas, the -whole of Victoria for the past 24 hours has been swept by the most violent storms. Serious general floods are expected. Up to a late hour last niglit the storms had continued to rage over Victoria. The gales were the worst in memory and have taken toll of five lives and caused tremendous damage to homes and crops. The famous St. Kilda pier is breaking up and the fate of seven occupants of the pier kiosk is unknown. The entire sea wall between St. Kilda Road and Elwood has been battered down by the raging seas, and at midnight waves were beating against 400 houses. Three square miles of Elwood is five feet under water. Four Men Electrocuted in Pool. Four men were electrocuted. They were caught in a pool of water charged with electricity. A fifth man was drowned when attempting to cross a flooded river in a cart. A man reported to the St. Kilda police that he had seen two men washed off the pier and believed they were drowned. The gale reached a velocity of 63 miles an hour, and five inches of rain fell in the metropolitan area in 12 hours. At Kensington, St. Kilda, Frankston and other suburbs it is estimated that 800 families are homeless. The Yarra River has overflowed its banks and inundated Chinese gardens. Chinese gardeners at Heidelberg climbed on to the roofs of their houses but, the water continuing to rise, forced them to swim to higher ground and to take refuge in the branches of trees. Because of washaways trains to the south-east of Victoria have been cancelled. St. Kilda a Scene of Havoc. St. liiida is a scene of havoc, while in the city fire brigades are active pumping out the flooded buildings. A number of suburbs were plunged in darkness when the electric wires were blown down. Some are even without gas. Reports are coming to hand of the toll of the storm in the country districts. Two people are believed to be drowned at Eltham. They were last seen on a roof of a now submerged house. Steamer Goes Ashore. Shipping in Port Philip Bay and along the coast experienced the worst buffeting for years. The steamer Triona, not the Colonial Sugar Company's freighter Fiona, as cabled earlier, went ashore off Port Melbourne. Late last night the Triona was lying on a mud bank. The crew are not in danger. Scores of fishing craft and yachts have been wrecked and sunk. Built by Harland and Wolff, Ltd., in 1931, the Triona was specially constructed for the carriage of phosphate from Ocean and Nauru Islands to Australia and New Zealand. The outstanding feature about her appearance is her peculiar shaped bow, to facilitate the lifting and laying of deep sea moorings. Her windlass is said to be one of the heaviest afloat, weighing 60 tons, with a lifting capacity of 100 tons. The ship's tonnage is 4413 gross, and her single screw is driven by triple expansion engines, which gave her a speed on her trials of 13.4 knots. Hericrew totals about 48. The name of the vessel is meant to imply that she has three owners, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, the three countries represented on the British Phosphate Commission, owners of the ship. TORRENTIAL RAIN. NEW SOUTH WALES STORM. (Received 12.30 p.m.) SYDNEY, this day. Storms swept the southern districts of New South Wales, causing heavy damage to crops, fences, buildings and J roads. Torrential rain resulted in rivers and creeks rising dangerously.