FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXII, Issue 15, 19 January 1910, Page 5

FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA.

Press Assn—By telegraph—Copyright. SYDNEY, January .18 The flood at Barraba was the highest for 45 years, flooding the mines at Inverell and Bingha, causing serious damage. Several mining dredges were sunk. . The waters' from the higher river have reached Walgett, and a flood is expected. ~,-», i Communication with Mpree and Wee Waa is still interrupted. There' are no further details reported as to the drowning disaster. THE WEE WAA FATALITY. SEVEN FATALITIES. (Received January 19, 11.5 a.m.) . " " SYDNEY, This Day. Belated reports coming to hand from the flooded districts show that in many cases it was*' higher than ever previously known. The devastation is widespread, and is greater than was at first anticipated. Later reports of the Wee Waa fatality state that besides the four names already mentioned, a policeman and two other men were also in the capsized boat and were drowned. Communication with Wee Waa is not. yet established. Two relief boats left Gunnedah for Wee Waa, and reached Boggabri, after a journey of forty miles. The whole course of the river was a scene of devastation. Dead sheep and other animals were floating and piled everywhere. Here and there patches of high land, standing out of the flood, were crowded with still living animals. Dozens of homes, half submerged, and abandoned, dotted both side's of the river. The boats will still have a long and perilous journey to make before reaching Wee Waa, where the worst is now over. The water is falling, but it will be some days before it is sufficiently cleared to" ascertain the full extent of the damage. Many settlers' homes are still isolated. " In the area between Narrabri and Boggabri alone, it is calculated that 100,000 sheep perished. At Narrabri the people took refuge in two-story buildings, the water invading all the business places and residences. Some spent two days on the roofs, with a short supply of food. There were numerous narrow escapes. Many settlers lost everything, and a large number of people are destitute. The Government is providing efficient relief where necessary. It is reported that two men, Yeomans and Reynolds, lost their lives at Moree. Fifty persons have been provided with temporary homes and relief at Tamworth. Large quantities of debris from swollen rivers are collecting in Newcastle Harbor.