FIRE PERIL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 26, 1 February 1937, Page 7

FIRE PERIL.

NEW FLOOD HORROR. 1 Spark May Cause Catastrophe In Cincinnati. GAS AND PETROL ESCAPING.

Vnited Press Association.—Copyright.

(Received 9.30 a.m.) NEW YORK, January 31.

A blanket of gas from mains, burst j by flood waters, covers the inundated , waterfront of Cincinnati. The fire J chief, Mr. Houston, described the' fire peril as more deadly than- anything Cincinnati ever faced. i This danger is increased by millions of gallons of petrol on the waters. A ban on smoking has been imposed, and; even passengers _in trains passing - through the city are prohibited from smoking. Mr. Houston has issued a warning to 1 cities down stream that the petrol float there eventually if not ignited at Cincinnati. "One spark and the industrial section of Cincinnati and most of the suburban towns would be surrounded by fire," he says. Latest figures of flood casualties issued : by the Red Cross are:— j Dead, 400. 1 Damage to property, 400,000,000 j dollars. I Homes flooded, 800,000. I Homeless people, 572,000. Marooned, 230,000. An earth tremor in the Memphis #rea sent engineers hurriedly to check the levees which, however, were not damaged. The authorities are hopeful of being able to hold the entire river, but they are prepared to evacuate the area from Cairo to New Orleans if necessary. Ohio River Breaks Levee. The Mississippi Rive/ has risen to a higher level than any hitherto reported. Cairo, Illinois, at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, is preparing to meet the crest on Wednesday. It was an island in the raging waters, which are crawling towards a level of 59ft. North of Cairo, in "Little Egypt/' smaller communities, notably Mound City, were evacuated when the flood waters backed up and inundated them. The Army flood-control headquarters ■ at Memphis reported that the Ohio River 1 had broken through a levee five miles , north of Cairo, threatening to cut ofl , that city from the north, the only ■ remaining exit from the area. It is believed, however, that the break probably will releive the tremendous pressure ' on the 64ft sea wall behind which the ' city lies 40ft below the level of the » flooded rivers. A large area in south-eastern Missour ♦ was flooded as the result of the openinj i" of levees. Complete evacuation oi ; Paducah, 8000 of the inhabitants o: which remained, has been ordered j. forcibly if necessary when the Ohio'i crest strikes it on Tuesday. Fight Against Disease. t The Louisville hospital superintendent Mr. Buschmeyer, predicts that th< e death roll will run far above~the esti g mates. He says he believes that 40 bodies already have been prepared fo ," burial. The Mayor, Mr. N. Millei „' insisted that the toll will not be mor a than 190. t The fight against disease continue g unabated and 200,000 people have bee inoculated against typhoid at Louisvill alone. Thirteen million units of serur and vaccines of all kinds have been sen to the flooded areas. The river threatened to overflow a Hickman, Kentucky, and evacuation o live stock and the removal of househol goods were begun .on a 200 miles fron from there to White River, Arkansas which had been almost overlooked i the greater horror of Ohio's devas ■ T tations.

Weird Messages Over the Air. The entire nation is listening-in to radio reports to hear distress calls and the Louisville station's directions to the police in rescue boats. .

Four men were caught in rapids in what once was the busiest down town section of Louisville. They were rescued while the directions to the boat's crew who effected the rescue were carried from coast to coast in the "hook-up."

Another weird call was a message to all police boats that a man had gone berserk through suffering, struck his father on the head with an oar, stole a motor boat and was cruising aimlessly about on the flood waters.

The police were instructed to conns cate the boat* and arrest the man.

Another call instructed the police to seize the hip boots of any residents not engaged in relief work and give them to those willing to work.